Transfer window verdict: how every WSL club fared this summer

Arsenal

Jonas Eidevall has certainly added quality in the World Cup winner and Ballon d’Or nominee Mariona Caldentey, the Netherlands goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar and the highly regarded midfielder Rosa Kafaji but that would all have been overshadowed if the world record bid for Keira Walsh had been accepted at the end of the window. However, Barcelona turned down what is believed to have been an offer worth more than £900,000. There have been several outgoings but the first team largely remains intact. Only the departure of Vivianne Miedema leaving for Manchester City raised eyebrows on a free. Overall, a good window. SW

Aston Villa

A summer window that started off badly for Villa with the sale of Van Domselaar to Arsenal has finished on a positive note with the club-record signing of the Brazil forward Gabi Nunes, for around £250,000. The Canada shot-stopper Sabrina D’Angelo is a more than adequate replacement for Van Domselaar and, with Missy Bo Kearns having been persuaded to move from Liverpool, overall, the new manager, Robert de Pauw, can be pretty happy. England fans will also be hoping that winger Katie Robinson’s career can now kick on in the West Midlands after her arrival from Brighton. TG

Brighton

Brighton and their new manager, Dario Vidosic, have been busy this summer. Nine players have departed and 10 arrived at the south coast club. Gelling them into a cohesive unit will be a big test of Vidosic’s skills. Securing the signature of Chelsea record goal scorer Fran Kirby is a coup, with her experience invaluable. Her many injury battles have been well documented but if she can stay fit then Brighton could be a real threat. Jelena Cankovic joins from Chelsea where, albeit with limited minutes, we saw flashes of her talent. The forward Bruna Vilamala has signed on loan from Barcelona further deepening the attacking ranks and the deadline-day loan signing of Arsenal’s Michelle Agyemang and the recruitment of Nikita Parris are two more top-level talents at opposing ends of their careers added to the mix up front. An incredibly strong window. SW

Chelsea

There have been big changes at Chelsea with Emma Hayes and a host of backroom staff leaving for the USA women’s national team and Sonia Bompastor and a new set of staff members arriving. Some big names have gone, in Maren Mjelde, Kirby, Ann-Katrin Berger, Melanie Leupolz and Jess Carter but the work has been done to ensure they leave with no holes left. The arrival of Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain respectively are the highlights of their window. There was one deadline day move, with Dutch defender Veerle Buurman joining but being loaned back to the club she was recruited from, PSV. Solid window, most of the prep work done before this summer. SW

Crystal Palace

With nine in and eight out, Laura Kaminski has made wholesale changes as the club grapples with the gap between the Championship and WSL. Katrine Veje, Shae Yanez and Josie Green all bring WSL experience. As does the deadline-day recruit Katie Stengel, who joins from Gotham FC. In addition to the new signings, four players have been brought in on loan. Chelsea’s Jorja Fox, Brooke Aspin and Lexi Potter as well as Manchester City’s Poppy Pritchard add some of the finest young players to Kaminski’s ranks, hungry to earn their stripes before returning to their parent clubs. Really impressive window from the new kids on the block. SW

Everton

Working on a minimal budget while the wider football club waits agonisingly for a takeover and forced to sell Sweden midfielder Hanna Bennison to Juventus in order to finance incoming players, Everton have defied their financial situation somewhat by picking up some bargains. The Sevilla duo of Inma Gabarro and Toni Payne should add threats going forward while Greece’s Veatriki Sarri has a lot to offer too. Overall, though, the squad looks thin and the club appear to now be the lowest spenders in the entire WSL. They can ill-afford another injury-hit season, given their current lack of squad depth. TG

Leicester City

The new Leicester head coach, Amandine Miquel, had a strong reputation for her well-scouted recruitment in France at Reims, and bringing the striker Noémie Mouchon across the channel with her looks like one of the bargains of the summer. Signing Ruby Mace from Manchester City will also add extra quality on the ball in midfield, and the England youth international is still only 21. But Leicester finished just a point behind Brighton last season and – if directly comparing those two teams’ investments this summer –it is the Sussex club who appear to have kicked on by far the stronger of the two. TG

Liverpool

It was a relatively quiet window for Liverpool, with just three new signings and a sense that the owners aren’t yet prepared to inject vast sums of cash to rival the title-chasing teams. Still, building for the future, Liverpool did still break the club record to sign the young Canada forward Olivia Smith for just over £200,000, by no means small change in the women’s game. Gemma Evans and Cornelia Kapocs also appear to be astute additions. The fans were disappointed to see lifelong supporter Kearns leave to join Aston Villa in search of more playing time. TG

Manchester City

Last season’s WSL runners-up got their business done early and the acquisition of Miedema was by far the most eye-catching move. To snap up the Japan forward Aoba Fujino, highly rated by coaches and scouts all over the world, could prove to be just as good a signing, though, and Ayaka Yamashita will provide Khiara Keating with high-quality competition in goal. Naomi Layzell is a promising addition for the future at centre-back. Losing Filippa Angeldahl to Real Madrid is a blow but perhaps their smartest move of all, though, was extending Lauren Hemp’s contract in April. In summary: positive. TG

Manchester United

Purely in terms of incomings, Manchester United fans have every reason to be excited; Simi Awujo, Celin Bizet and Elisabeth Terland are all good additions, while the club’s move for the talented Sweden full-back Anna Sandberg was inspired. Melvine Malard will build on last season’s showing now that her loan has become permanent, and Dominique Janssen is a solid centre-back choice. As for the outgoings, though, it’s an entirely different story. Losing Mary Earps was terrible news for the football club. Last season’s top scorer, Parris, has gone to Brighton and the club captain, Katie Zelem, was strangely allowed to leave for free. The Spain winger Lucía García will also be missed, and the exits of Irene Guerrero and Gemma Evans – both after just one year at the club – point to failures in the 2023 market. TG

Tottenham

After an impressive first season under Robert Vilahamn, which included a run to their first FA Cup final, recruitment has been easier this summer. There have been some key outgoings though, with Bizet joining Manchester United, the influential midfielder Grace Clinton’s loan deal ending, Rosella Ayane joining Chicago Red Stars and Asmita Ale moving to Leicester. The Australian contingent has grown with Hayley Raso and Clare Hunt joining compatriot Charlotte Grant from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. The deadline-day signing of Maite Oroz was much needed following Kit Graham’s ACL injury. Meanwhile, England Under-23 defender Ella Morris has joined from Southampton. A solid window but Bizet and Clinton will be missed. SW

West Ham

The Hammers have lost some real quality in Honoka Hayashi, who has joined Everton, Risa Shimizu, whose move to Manchester City has been blighted by an ACL injury suffered at the Olympics, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who has moved to Portland Thorns and Hawa Cissoko, who has joined Roma. There have been eight players incoming to combat the seven departures. Only the former Tottenham player Shelina Zadorsky and deadline day loan signing Li Mengwen, who joins from Brighton, bring WSL experience with the remaining players picked up from across Europe. How quickly they adapt and how well Rehanne Skinner can get them playing fluently together will be a big challenge. The signings do not make up for the losses on paper but the impact of players that are new to the WSL is hard to predict. SW