Laura Coombs: Manchester City midfielder signs new two-year deal with Women's Super League club

Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs says it was "a natural decision" to sign a new two-year deal with the club.

Coombs, who joined City in 2019 from Liverpool, has extended her stay until the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

She has scored five goals in 34 games since joining and helped the Women's Super League side reach the Champions League quarter-finals this season.

"I wasn't thinking about going elsewhere so I'm super happy it's all worked out," she told BBC Sport.

"This year I felt I had developed more than I had done probably in any previous season. I just want to keep that going.

"It's a really tough environment to be in every day because there's so many quality players. You have to bring your A-game every day so it's a challenge but one that's really pushed me and I want to carry on doing that to see how far I can go with it."

Coombs has been in great form for City this season, earning a first England call-up for five years following a run of three goals in three games in November.

She says she has enjoyed working under manager Gareth Taylor, who has just completed his first season in charge.

"There has been a lot of progress. I remember in pre-season I would come home mentally drained from the sessions because of what I was learning!" added Coombs.

"Even at the end of the season, Gareth is pushing us in every session. He has been great for me and I've really enjoyed learning under him this year.

"He makes it feel like the game is easy when he speaks about it. You feel like when you go out, you know exactly what is going to happen and how things will play out."

Manchester City were beaten to the Women's Super League title by Chelsea for the second successive season despite losing just one game.

But City won the 2019-20 FA Cup in November and reached the last eight of the Champions League before losing to eventual winners Barcelona over two legs.

Coombs says regaining the WSL title remains a big priority for the club next season.

"We have missed out really closely in the league in the last two seasons so that is definitely a priority for us," she added.

"Also, in the Champions League this year, we obviously went out to Barcelona and saw the gap between us and them. We're working on closing that. Those are our main hopes.

"We always want to be in for the domestic cups too - that is just a given. The club wants to win everything we go into."