Manchester City have announced the signing of young Australia forward Mary Fowler on a four-year deal.
Fowler, 19, has spent the last two-and-a-half seasons at Montpellier in Division 1 Feminine and has attracted a lot of attention for her exploits with her club and country.
She was recently voted in the top 10 of ESPN’s top players Under-21 to watch in the coming seasons.
“The whole environment is an environment that I think can really push me and grow me as a player into becoming the player I think I know I can be so it was really an investment in in myself, and in my future self because it’s a place that is at the top of football,” Fowler told ESPN of her decision to join City.
“This team is such a strong team and they play such nice football. So I think we have the ability to go out there and win the league.”
– ESPN FC Women’s Rank: The 50 best footballers in the world today
Fowler spent her early years playing with Illawara Stingrays and Bankstown Sydney before making her A-League Women debut in 2019 with Adelaide United, scoring on her debut.
She moved to Montpellier in January 2020 and despite that campaign ending early, she kicked off the next one with five goals in 15 games as her club finished fifth.
“I’ve still got so much to learn and being in such a professional environment where I have players that are pushing me and challenging me that’s when I enjoy my football the most,” she said. “When it’s harder for me rather than just being the pushover.
“England is definitely one of the fastest growing and one of the best leagues women’s football, right now, and I really enjoy playing challenging football that is very smart and fast and it’s just it’s beautiful to watch but it’s also really competitive to play.”
The forward made her debut with Australia at just 15 and has accumulated 24 caps and seven goals since. One such goal came against Great Britain in the Olympics before Australia were knocked out by eventual champions Sweden.
She was recently awarded Australia’s PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year trophy and is hoping to make the squad for the home World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.
“I’m super excited I mean the chance to not only play in a World Cup, but playing a home World Cup it’s it’s something that’s really special and it’s really a blessing because it’s one off,” she added.
“Going to a club like City, it was definitely in the back of my mind that the World Cup is next year and that I want to be in the best form possible leading into that and City is definitely a place where I think I can get to that point great well.”
