Goalkeeper Harriet Grimshaw brings with her a huge amount of intrigue and promise upon her signing for Albion Women.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed fruitful spells with both Stoke City and Stourbridge in the FAWNL Northern Premier, which will stand her in good stead as she makes the switch to B71.
Harriet began her career playing for Hanley Town’s men’s team and was immediately snapped up by the Potters academy after they spotted her impressive performances between the sticks.
Stoke snapped up the young shot-stopper, who played for their reserve side before catching the eye of WSL2 outfit Sheffield United.
The Blades became the next stop for Harriet, presenting her with the opportunity of further minutes within a Category One Professional Game Academy team.
A season was spent developing within their Under-21s set-up, but the lure of third-tier football meant she returned to the West Midlands with Stourbridge.
The Glassgirls were unsuccessful in staying above the drop zone, but Harriet’s performances across 21 league appearances stood out as especially impressive and earned nationwide plaudits.
So much so, she was awarded the FAWNL Northern Premier Player of the Season, having been voted as Player of the Match by opposition teams on more occasions than any other player.
The award and her exceptional showings across the campaign enticed third-tier high-flyers Stoke City to provide the young shot-stopper with an opportunity to continue her affiliation with the division in which she was named the best player in the year prior.
Across her 10 Potters appearances in 2025/26, Grimshaw proved a worthy understudy to regular starter, Lucy Farrell, but certainly stepped up to the plate when called upon.
Her most memorable match of the campaign was arguably Stoke’s Staffordshire County FA Challenge Cup victory over Sporting Khalsa. Sarah Richardson’s team ran out 2-0 winners, meaning Grimshaw added some silverware to her collection after starting the fixture.
And it’s those types of performances, and big occasions, Harriet will look to relish as she touches down in B71.
