Haley hopeful Brighton and Spain ace Bruna can help Seagulls soar in points battle with WSL rivals
MADISON HALEY reckons the dynamic Bruna Vilamala will keep the Seagulls soaring.
Brighton forward Haley thinks a top-four spot could be a realistic target for the club who have had a flying start to the Women’s Super League season.
Albion face a tricky early-season test at highly fancied Manchester City this afternoon.
The eagerly awaited contest, which kicks off at 12:30pm comes on the back of their 4-0 opening-day thrashing of Everton last Saturday when Kiko Seike ran riot with a historic debut WSL hat-trick.
Now American Haley (right), 25, is backing another summer signing in Bruna to make a big impact.
Striker Bruna, 22, who has joined on loan from Barcelona, scored four goals in ten top-flight starts for the Catalan club last season.
She made her senior international debut for Spain in June.
And Haley revealed: “People have been asking me who’s the one to watch. Bruna was one of the players I said.
“With her coming from Barcelona, the technical ability is there in abundance.
“She gives us some really good quality in possession as well as out.
“She can play multiple positions and I guess it makes us a bit more dynamic as a team.
“Her intensity, the distance she covers and effort that she puts in is there. She can also keep the opposition on their toes.
“That makes us more flexible as a team, because you can have people swapping positions live in the game.
“It just gives us a bit more flexibility and makes us more dynamic as a team, which I think is something maybe we didn’t have last season as much.”
This summer has seen Brighton undergo a massive overhaul with the departure of 13 players and 12 new arrivals.
Among those coming in were England forwards Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris.
And along with striker Michelle Agyemang, 18, from Arsenal, Bruna is one of two promising young players to have joined the club on a season’s loan.
The Seagulls have also undergone a transformation in playing style with the team more front-footed in attack under new boss Dario Vidosic.
The Brighton gaffer, 37, was appointed in July.
He took over from interim chief Mikey Harris, who guided the south coast team to a ninthplace finish last term.
Following all the chopping and changing in the dugout, former Melbourne City Women’s boss Vidosic is the fifth manager to take charge of Albion since December 2022.
And Haley believes the WSL side are making progress under their new boss who is a big admirer of Pep Guardiola’s early coaching success with Barcelona’s B team.
The Texas-born player added: “With Dario coming in with his new approach, we’re moving in the right direction most definitely.
We’re in a good place overall.
“All the small tweaks and tactical things, of course, that’s going to be different from manager to manager.
“But Brighton’s philosophy has stayed true throughout with the changes.
“For the most part, it’s been a pretty easy transition.
“We want to be pushing as high as we can in the table. With the new additions, we can definitely do that.
“The expectations are the same, from the club’s perspective. We want to be a top-four team.
“We’ve added a lot of big players and having an overarching goal is good.
“But then it’s also about being a bit realistic as well.
“There’s no doubt that the sky’s the limit for this team.”
Manchester City vs Brighton can be watched live at 12:30pm today on BBC Two.