Former Arsenal and England Under-21 talent Georgia Allen signs for Ipswich Town Women after USA adventure finishes at Syracuse University
Moreton Hall's England Under-21 star Georgia Allen will be playing her football closer to home next season after returning from a four-year USA adventure to sign a professional contract at Ipswich Town.
The former King Edward VI School student is set to pursue a master's in psychology at the University of Essex from September. And she saw it as the ideal opportunity to re-join the club she had started her football journey with, having been with Town's centre of excellence from the ages of six to 12.
"I feel very grateful for the opportunity to return to my childhood club while pursuing my master's," she told the Syracuse University's athletic department website.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to continue my education and play for a club that I have always loved playing for.
"They supported me on my journey to the World Cup and I'm looking forward to achieving great things with this team."
Ipswich Town currently ply their trade in the FA Women's National League Division One South East and in the coronavirus-abandoned 2019/20 season became the first fourth tier side to ever reach the fifth round of the FA Women’s Cup.
They had been leading their division after 14 of their 22 matches before the FA terminated the campaign and chose to null and void it.
Allen, a 21-year-old midfielder, had come through Arsenal's academy, captaining the Gunners' Under-17s to a domestic double in an unbeaten 2014/15 campaign. That season also saw her named on the substitutes bench for Arsenal Ladies for their winning League Cup Final as well as being promoted to the England U18s team from the U17s.
She went on to make a handful of appearances for the senior side in the Women's Super League and was part of the Arsenal side that lifted the Continental Cup in 2016.
Shortly after her 18th birthday she signed a scholarship with East Tennessee State University but after a year, earning Freshman All-Southern Conference honours, transferred to Syracuse University.
She went on to captain the Orange in 2018 and in total made 44 appearances, scoring four goals for the New York college side before their season was curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Internationally, Allen's career continued to flourish and she scored the game-winning penalty for England U20s in the third-place play-off at the 2018 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup against hosts France to win a bronze medal.
Before leaving the US, she earned her bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in anthropology and was the recipient of a Cuse Award in 2019, an award recognising Syracuse students for outstanding performances in their sport.
