Reaction'I'm really excited and our fans should be too' - Matt Beard reacts to Olivia Smith signing
Matt Beard expressed delight and excitement after Olivia Smith completed her transfer to Liverpool FC Women.
The 19-year-old Canada international arrives at the Reds, subject to international clearance, fresh from an incredible first season as a professional at Sporting CP, having been named Best Young Player of the Campeonato Nacional Feminino.
Beard has been an admirer of the versatile attacker's blossoming talents for some time and sat down with Liverpoolfc.com to discuss what she will bring to the team in 2024-25.
Read on for the full interview with the LFC Women boss…
Matt, how pleased are you to make Olivia a Liverpool player?
Delighted. A lot of work has gone into it, we've been monitoring her now for the last year-and-a-half. I'm really excited, fans should be excited by her as well. She's a fantastic talent, a great personality as well. Hopefully we can see that personality and that talent on the pitch.
It seems like she's just at the very start of what hopefully will be a really exciting career...
Definitely. I think the key part to that is that it is the start – she's only 19. She's obviously gone and left home to go to Portugal, which isn't easy to do at all. She had a great season there for Sporting last year. The conversations that we've had, the games that we've watched, we're really looking forward to working with her.
How would you describe her as a player?
She's got so many quality attributes – she's quick, two-footed, [can] score, assist, can tackle. Definitely my type of player. I think the first thing that everyone knows we look at is the work ethic, and she's got that in abundance. Her attitude to want to improve is fantastic. Fingers crossed that she can improve here and kick on from where she left off from Sporting. We're really excited by Olivia.
You want to kick on this season and she will help you do that...
I think if we look at last year, the improvements that we made – we improved the midfield and the back line. This recruitment window is really going to be about the top end of the pitch. Olivia can play in all three positions up front, she can even play in midfield, so she offers us versatility. We're really excited by her.
Someone that scores goals, someone that creates goals – are they the most difficult players to find?
Yeah, without a shadow of a doubt. I think if you look at any team in women's football, men's football, finding a goalscorer and someone that can assist as well is tough and it costs a lot of money as well. We're really excited by the prospect of what she can do here.
How happy are you with that balance of the experience and young emerging talent in the squad?
It's great. Obviously Niamh Fahey adds that experience to the team, Ceri Holland now I would add to that. I think we've got a great blend of a mix right the way across the board and good ages. The average age of the squad is really good. Like I said before, we built a team last summer that we wanted to grow and now it's about adding the final pieces to the jigsaw.
Is it a busy summer for you now? Are you happy with where you are in terms of recruitment?
I think we're probably looking at one, two max. We're pretty settled with the squad. As I say, we wanted to just address the top end of the pitch.
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