"I WANT TO SURROUND MYSELF WITH THE BEST PLAYERS" | Naomi Layzell signs for Manchester City

Ioni welcome to the club How does it feel to join Manchester City It' s quite surreal to be honest You always want to play for the top teams As a young player I think joining City is just a really exciting opportunity for me You mentioned there obviously being a young player and having this opportunity Wha What considerations did you have to take before making this move I guess there are always different considerations when you're making a move Whatever stage you're in it's part of your journey but I guess you're thinking about playing time and I know that will be difficult and I have to prove myself to play here But yeah I guess playing alongside and training against some of the top elite professionals in the world is just a really exciting opportunity and really hard to turn down You made such a big impact at Bristol City Why now join Manchester City at this stage Your career With Bristol I felt that the club gave me a lot and I learned a lot I grew so much as a person there but I felt it was time for me to find a new challenge And I feel like Man City brings that challenge for me and I think I needed to be stretched to keep growing How important is it to be stretched to keep growing Is that important to you Where you want to develop and where you want to reach by being here is hugely important I think you have to surround yourself with the best players and keep challenging yourself in order to To get better and if you're not uncomfortable sometimes then you're probably going to find it quite hard to grow and I think here even just meeting the girls and seeing some of the training I think the standards and expectations are really high and I'm just really excited to get involved How would you describe yourself as a player to the City fans I'd probably describe myself as someone who really loves defending and especially emergency defending but I also really like to be on the ball and I think that City as a team They are very possession-based and love to have the ball and create chances and as a defender I think it often starts from the back so I'm really excited to the Be able to sort of start attacks and get the ball moving and yeah I like to play on the ball as well as defend You alluded to it a little bit there bu How do you think City can help you improve as a player Yeah I think as I mentioned before City have a lot of the ball and I think being at Bristol City it may have been slightly different and that I had a lot of defending to do especially last year in the WSL and then to have the ball more and it's a different kind of game even though you're playing the same positio You often find yourself in different situations so I think that will really help that part of my game grow and then just training against some of the forwards that are here The midfielders I think you can't really beat that challenge so yeah So of course in training you' ll be coming up against the likes of Bonnie Shaw and Lauren Hemp and our amazing attacking players How much are you embracing that challenge as well I'm really looking forward to facing them in training They're very talented and make really intelligent runs They're technically very good and I think if you challenge yourself against those players week in and week out then when you come up against other teams and other top-class players You're more comfortable dealing with it and feel more confident when facing them and I think that sort of opportunity in training and then hopefully playing matches With them on your team it's really exciting and should help me improve a lot Only two seasons ago you helped Bristol City win the championship how can that experience of fighting for a league Title will you help us in our pursuit of major honors as well Well I think that season there was a There's a lot going on and I think it's always important to find a way to win in those moments There may be things happening behind the scenes that people are not aware of but it's abou collectively coming together on match days and training days to then find a way to win and ge Things over the line because every point matters when you're sort of fighting to be at the top And fast forward a year you won Bristol City's young player and player of the year as well Did that mean something specific to you I think I was just really honored especially getting a player to be recognized by your teammates is quite exciting and then a young player as well It's nice to get the recognition from the fans and then also the coaching staff to show that your hard work counts I guess football's always a team sport but it's nice to get individual Accolades as well Do those moments kind of provide even more motivation and desire to win things not just individually but as a team as well Yeah definitely I think that last season It was tough with Bristol City but I think coming into a team that's fighting for four trophies is really exciting and getting the taste for what it's sometimes like to win something Is it just that it makes you want more you're never really satisfied with just getting there and then sort of being happy with what you are I think you're always striving to get better Win more things and yeah You've also progressed through the various England youth levels as well how has that experience helped you as a player I think it's invaluable to play Internationally and if you have the opportunity because it's a different style of play you're potentially playing with different people and coaches and you have to come together In a different way maybe like club football I think having the holistic experiences really helps you as a player to grow like being away from home when you're younger and then sort of Playing against other top international teams is a different style of football potentially than in the league so yeah And of course you trained with the England seniors not too long ago what What was that experience like It was really exciting I was glad to be able to get the opportunity It was nice to be on the same camp as them and then see how the seniors worked and maybe integrate a little bit and get the opportunity to train with them it was really Exciting for me I didn't expect it at the time but I guess when you're working hard and you're Sort of putting yourself in a position to get those opportunities then you've got to just take them while you can and the girls were always all really lovely and the training was really good and high level and I think now coming into the environment at City the training will be similar and probably more so I'm really excited to have had that experience and then sort of Hopefully more to come You mentioned something about coming into the environment at City and how it's like rubbing shoulders with the elite players of the England camp Are you going to help you transition into the team here Well I think in the end like 's realising that every player is a human as well and that although they may have the grea Accolades they've won and they may be the top-class people they are but they're also op class people generally and I think that once you get past the starstruck aspect of Like being on the same pitch as them you sort of realize that you're not there by chance You've kind of earned your way there and there's a reason you're kind of rubbing it in Shoulders with them so I think yeah it's nice to know that they're people as well And what conversations have you had so far with the manager I guess I've had a few chats with him Gareth and I think it's just about trying to integrate myself into the team and learn the ropes The style of play because it's a very specific style of play which I'm really excited to be part of And I think just trying to take every opportunity that I can and sort of build and grow as a player and hopefully be part of a winning team I think I'm right in saying you made your WSL debut against City for Bristol City Now sitting here as a City player how does that feel It's almost like a full circle moment How does it feel now being a City player after making your debut Debuting in the WSL against them Yeah I mean it's quite strange really I guess that match That I made my debut on was a tough day for us but now to be on the side that is potentially winning those games week in and week out is really exciting and I At that point if you had asked me four years ago that you'd be wearing a City shirt I would have been really surprised and thought no way but I guess looking back at where I was then and where I am now like the person that I've grown into and the player that I'm becoming I'm Really excited to sort of kick that off I mean seeing that you're wearing number three taking over from Demi Stokes a club legend how does that feel for you Wear that shirt number as well I think I'm really excited to wear number three When a starting number 11 shirt is available I think it's hard to turn it down especially as a player sort of young player coming in and hoping to be here for a long time so I can live up to Demi's legacy as a City player and kind of continuing the number's journey really And what are Are you hoping to achieve at the club in the short term and the long term as well I guess individually it's just trying to gain as much experience and opportunity as I can For the team there are four competitions we're in and I guess the aim is to win Every competition that we can be in and I think that's the aspiration of all the girls I've sort of tried to take ownership of that as well so I'm really looking forward to it And just finally what would your message to the City fans be A message to the fans would just be that I'm really excited to be here and get going and I can't wait to play in front of all of you Naomi thank you so much for your time Welcome to the club Thank you