West Ham United have confirmed the departure of Maz Pacheco to fellow Women's Super League club Aston Villa.

The 22-year-old defender joined the Hammers from Reading in the summer of 2020, featuring 17 times last season in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League starting 11 games.

Pacheco made her WSL debut at the age of 16 for Liverpool and has also played for Reading in the top flight before making the move to West Ham.

She also helped Doncaster Rovers Belles win the WSL 2 title in one of two spells with the side.

The Left-back also has international experience under her belt as she was part of the squad that helped England to a third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA under 20 Women’s World Cup.

On the signing Aston Villa boss Carla Ward said: "Maz is someone who comes with great energy and a wealth of WSL experience, she's someone we've monitored for a long time and I'm delighted to bring her in, she'll add a lot of quality to this group."

Pacheco went on to add on joining Aston Villa: "It's been very positive, very exciting that's one reason why I signed for the club and also the way Carla Ward spoke to me and about my game and how she can help me, I think it's a good decision for me to come here.

"I've played with a good few of the players that are here including Alisha Lehmann at West Ham so I know a good few of the girls at the club and I can't wait for the new season to begin."

"My aim with Aston Villa is to just climb up the table as much as we can and we need to concentrate on ourselves that's the most important thing and we need to keep pushing on."

Pacheco could make her competitive debut against newly promoted Leicester City on the opening day of the 2021-22 season.