Birmingham, England, October 2nd 2024: Fran Kirby (14 Brighton) before kick off of the Womens League Cup game between Birmingham City and Brighton at St Andrews in Birmingham, England (Natalie Mincher/SPP)
Fran Kirby has been linked with a move away from Brighton this month – with Juventus reported to want to acquire the former England striker.
Indeed, it has been suggested that the Italian club have had three bids for Kirby rejected already.
But Dario Vidosic said in his press conference on Thursday that he believed Kirby would still be with the club at the end of the transfer window.
“Yeah, I expect her to be here,” he said.
He went on: “She is very, very important. She’s a very important player for us, helps us a lot, not just on the field, but it’s also that leadership quality and also the experience, the calmness, and that helps the younger players and those other ones around her.
“So she leads the way, leads by example. You can see the days when she’s not there or she’s missing a game that there is a slight difference.
“We can’t deny her quality and what she brings. She’s definitely one that we want here when February 1 rolls around.”
Vidosic: We need the likes of Fran Kirby to achieve our ambitions
And ahead of Brighton’s tricky Women’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against WSL2 team Nottingham Forest, he said that having players like Kirby signalled the club’s ambition of winning silverware – and reassured players that they were in the right place.
“They’re all ambitious, they all want to play at the highest level, they all want to play at Wembley and in Champions Leagues, so we can’t take that away or be angry.at someone for those ambitions, but we want to be right up there as well. We understand that it’s a process. It can’t just happen overnight. It does take time to put the foundation in place.
“[The Women’s FA Cup is] a competition, especially this weekend, that we’re really excited about. We want to go and we want to try and get to Wembley. I would love for this team to be the first one to bring silverware back to the club.
“So the ambition is there, but we need the likes of Fran and players of that calibre to help us to achieve those ambitions.”
