Forward Midge Purce has signed a new contract with Gotham FC for the 2025 season, the team announced Wednesday, ending her time as a free agent following the expiration of her previous contract with Gotham in December. She has now joined the rest of the team in Spain for preseason.

Purce missed nearly the entirety of the 2024 NWSL season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the first half of last season’s opening match against the Portland Thorns. In 2023 as part of Gotham’s championship run, Purce was named the championship MVP after providing the assists on both of Gotham’s goals.

Purce hasn’t missed too much of preseason with the delay in signing her new deal. While she has posted about individual training sessions to show her rehab process, she also attended Paris Fashion Week in January.

Purce keeping options open for 2026

Purce’s injury at the start of 2024 couldn’t have come at a tougher time, following her NWSL championship performance and after being named to the USWNT’s Gold Cup roster to start 2024. Those two things combined should have put her on then-incoming head coach Emma Hayes’s radar ahead of the Olympics; instead, she spent the rest of the year recovering.

The 29-year-old will return to a changed roster, but still one that has options across the attacking line with Esther and Ella Stevens still in the mix, plus the return of Jessica Silva and the signing of Gabi Portilho this off-season. There have been a lot of notable departures from Gotham over the past few months, which provide Purce with an opening to push for a starting role coming back from her ACL tear.

The interesting element of Purce’s new deal is that it’s only for a single season. Purce directly addressed exploring options beyond Gotham on the streaming show , sharing that other teams were offering more money and trades were on the table ahead of the final year of her contract with the New Jersey club. In the end, she elected to stay for 2024, and she has elected to sign a new deal for 2025. Purce likely wants to keep her options open for 2026, especially with the planned start for two expansion teams and what movement that may create across the NWSL.

For Gotham, Purce’s return is welcome news after the team has made headlines for the departures of multiple players outside of free agency, including Lynn Biyendolo (formerly Williams), Yazmeen Ryan, Jenna Nighswonger and Crystal Dunn.

Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West recently addressed public concerns over their off-season in an open letter to fans, writing, “I’m aware of the outside narratives surrounding our roster moves. One of the most challenging aspects of my job is seeing these external perspectives contrast with the deep confidence and belief we have in what we’re building at Gotham FC.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

US Women's national team, Gotham FC, Soccer, NWSL

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