Paide have agreed a deal to sign striker Kirkeliis Lillemets, with the 20-year-old Estonia WNT player returning home after a full season in Germany.
Lillemets spent the campaign in the Bayer 04 Leverkusen system, training in the Bundesliga environment and featuring in friendlies. A knee injury, followed by surgery and rehabilitation, prevented the striker from making her expected top-flight debut.
After her lay-off, she worked her way back to match fitness with Leverkusen’s U23 side and now begins a new chapter in Paide.
“For personal reasons I felt I needed a change of environment and that the right step was to come back home,” Lillemets told the club media. “Paide take women’s football very seriously and want to support players in every way, and that gave me the confidence to say yes”.
“I’m expecting a lot of success from the new season, both personally and as a team. We have players in the squad who can do big things, but the most important part is how we start functioning together on the pitch. I’m really looking forward to meeting both new and familiar team-mates. It’s going to be a great season.”
Head coach Sirje Kapper said Lillemets’ arrival adds “competition and quality” in attack.
“I’m very happy that Kirkeliis has decided to join Paide for the new season,” Kapper said. “She is a young and talented forward, and her experience from top-level football in Germany and the Estonia national team will help us get closer to our goals.”
“Her ball control, vision and game intelligence give us new solutions and more dynamism in breaking down opposition defensive lines.”
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Source: https://www.paidelinnameeskond.ee/kirkeliis-lillemets-liitus-linnanaiskonnaga/
