Gareth Taylor explains Vicky Losada's Man City exit
By Ali Rampling
Gareth Taylor has explained Vicky Losada's departure from Manchester City to Roma was due to the midfielder's desire for more game time.
Losada joined City in the summer of 2021 fresh from winning the Champions League with Barcelona. She played 12 times in the WSL during her debut season with the club but featured just twice in the league this term, with a knee injury restricting her availability towards the back end of 2022.
Despite City losing Caroline Weir, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh last summer, Losada has found herself behind Taylor's settled first choice midfield three of Yui Hasegawa, Laura Coombs and Deyna Castellanos.
The 31-year-old's move to Champions League quarter finalists Roma was announced on Wednesday. She had six months remaining on her City deal but Taylor was unable to confirm if the club received a fee for her.
"Vicky is a good player, she's got a lot of football left in her, and unfortunately she felt that she probably wasn't going to get necessarily that game time here and wanted a new challenge," Taylor explained.
"We obviously never want to keep a player who's not happy or wants to go and fulfil another desire. It was good - she came to see the players, we said our goodbyes and obviously we wish her well at Roma."
Losada set the recent trend of players moving from Liga F to Man City, with Laia Aleixandi, Leila Ouahabi and Deyna Castellanos all following suit in the summer of 2022. Taylor emphasised how Losada's importance extended beyond her abilities on the pitch, with the midfielder aiding the Spanish speaking trio's transition to life in England.
"From a football perspective I think Vicky had some availability issues with injuries, but when she has been available she's been a really important player for us and I think her experience has been pretty crucial," the City boss added.
"And I certainly think from that first six months of Laia, Leila and Deyna arriving, she was huge, on and off the pitch, for those players and I think that was great and those players are really grateful for that."
