Alex Morgan signs for Tottenham in remarkable coup for WSL

Tottenham have signed the USA Women star Alex Morgan on a short-term loan deal that will run to the end of the year, subject to the player being granted a visa.

The 2019 World Cup silver ball winner, who famously celebrated her goal against England in their 2-1 semi-final defeat by pretending to sip tea, has swapped Orlando Pride for Tottenham to increase her game time as she tries to win a place in the US squad for the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

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In August Morgan made her return to action after the birth of her daughter, Charlie, on 7 May, but she left the pitch after a heavy collision. Orlando Pride will compete in the NWSL Fall Series but the mini-tournament will provide only four competitive fixtures. Morgan will undoubtedly be the highest-profile import in the history of domestic women’s football in England.

She scored five goals against Thailand in the USA’s 13-0 victory on the way to her second World Cup trophy. The striker joins Pride teammates Shelina Zadorsky and Alanna Kennedy, who also signed loan deals with Tottenham this summer.

It is not Morgan’s first spell in Europe: the 31-year-old spent a year at Lyon in 2017, picking up a league title, the French Cup and a Champions League winner’s medal in the process. She also won Olympic gold at the London 2012 Olympics, scoring the extra-time winner against Canada in the semi-final.

Morgan and her fellow forward Megan Rapinoe became the first women to sign up to the Common Goal campaign, in which footballers donate 1% of their salaries to footballing charities. She also co-captains the USA team with Rapinoe and the former Manchester City striker Carli Lloyd.