West Ham United women is delighted to announce that Lois Joel has extended her contract with the club until 2022.
The 22-year-old defender has signed for another year in East London and will be looking to continue her development with the Hammers.
Joel was limited to five league appearances in Claret & Blue, having sustained a foot injury in February that ruled her out for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.
She then supported her team-mates from the side lines – her positive energy helping to spur the team on to secure their WSL top-flight status, as they now look towards contesting their fourth consecutive campaign.
[Last season] was my first taste of professional football and I’m looking forward to building on that in the upcoming season
Lois Joel
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“I’m really excited to be here for another year," Joel told West Ham TV. "Last year I really enjoyed being with the club, it was my first taste of professional football and I’m looking forward to building on that in the upcoming season.
“I want to build on what I achieved last season. Under Olli, I started to get more consistent game-time and I’d love to build on that in the upcoming campaign. I think being versatile helps me and I want to continue that this season and see where I can impact games.
"I think the team are in really good spirits. Obviously, we’re going to have new faces in the team, but I think that everyone will be able to gel really well. It’s exciting to have a full pre-season under Olli, something we haven’t had yet because he came in half-way through the season, so starting from scratch and building on the foundations that we set last year, it’s exciting."
Olli Harder is also pleased to secure the services of Joel for the upcoming campaign:
"We’re really pleased to have Lois on board for another season. Lois is a young English talent with good scope for development and it’s important for us as a club to invest in players like Lois and help them hone their skills and reach their potential.
"She offers a lot of versatility; has a good work ethic and I believe that she will contribute positively to the team," he added.
Last season was Joel’s first season in professional football, having previously spent time on the books of Watford, Arsenal and Chelsea before moving to America to enrol at West Virginia University.
The defender is now looking forward to getting pre-season underway, as she looks to regain her fitness ahead of the upcoming campaign.
