Manchester City have announced that centre-back Steph Houghton has signed a new one-year contract extension with the WSL side.

The 35-year-old’s current deal was set to expire this summer but she has put pen to paper on an agreement keeping her in Manchester until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Houghton has been at City since 2013, following previous spells at Arsenal and Sunderland, and the England legend has won eight major trophies during her time with the club.

In her first season, the defender lifted the FA WSL Cup, before going on to secure the Women’s Super League title in 2016. Although City haven’t finished top of the table since then, Houghton has still been part of six more domestic cup triumphs.

Houghton’s new contract is not a surprise after she regained her place in City’s starting lineup earlier in the season, and manager Gareth Taylor will be delighted to have someone with her experience around for yet another campaign.

An England Icon

Houghton has been capped 121 times by the Lionesses over the past 16 years, having made her debut against Russia all the way back in 2007.

The centre-half took on the captaincy in 2014 and she was a key figure as England finished third in the 2015 World Cup.

Houghton did also play in France four years later, although the Lionesses fell at the same stage of the tournament, losing to the United States in the semi-finals.

An Achilles injury in 2021 and Sarina Wiegman’s appointment as England head coach coincided with Houghton losing her place in the international setup. She was not called up for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand despite injuries to current captain Leah Williamson and others.

It would have been Houghton’s sixth major tournament but she will be watching from the stands like the rest of us.