WSL clubs' January transfer business - ranked and rated

The Women's Super League transfer window slammed shut on Thursday night, with Manchester United fans exuberant after their side's dramatic, late addition of three international players, while several other clubs were left disappointed after failing to sign anybody on deadline day, or even in the entire window.

Here Telegraph Sport assesses each club's business - or lack of - and picks out the winners and losers of an intriguing month off the field.

Arsenal

League position: 1st

Players in: Stina Blackstenius (striker, free transfer from BK Hacken), Laura Wienroither (defender, undisclosed fee from Hoffenheim), Rafaelle Souza (defender, signed from Changchun Zhuoyue)

Players out: Viktoria Schnaderbeck (defender, on loan to Tottenham), Anna Patten (defender, on loan to Aston Villa), Natalia Negri (goalkeeper, dual-registration with Charlton), Halle Houssein (midfielder, dual-registration with West Ham), Teyah Goldie (forward, dual-registration with Watford), Daisy Ackerman (winger, on loan to Bridgwater United)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 4.5/5

Arsenal were delighted to outdo some of their rivals to sign Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius, who was arguably the best out-of-contract player in the world this winter. She gives the north Londoners another clinical option up front and - perhaps just as crucially - by signing her they stopped her going to strengthen either Manchester United or Tottenham, who are also understood to have attempted to sign her.

The astute acquisition of experienced Brazil centre-back Rafaelle Souza is a huge boost to their backline and she has been impressive in her two performances in Arsenal colours so far, and Austria’s Laura Wienroither also played well in Thursday’s victory over Brighton.

Arsenal have important work ahead of them to attempt to persuade star striker Vivianne Miedema to sign a new deal rather than leaving on a free transfer this summer - with PSG and Barcelona both hoping to sign the Holland striker - but Jonas Eidevall’s team were boosted by being able to secure a new contract for England centre-back Leah Williamson this month, another fans favourite.

Chelsea

League position: 2nd

Players in: Alsu Abdullina (defender, undisclosed fee from Lokomotiv Moscow)

Players out: Jorja Fox (defender, on loan to Charlton), Carly Telford (goalkeeper, to San Diego Wave for an undisclosed fee)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 2.5/5

Russia defender Alsu Abdullina is a good long-term prospect for Chelsea, and their only acquisition of this window, but it is understood they are planning to do the vast majority of their business in the summer.

Emma Hayes already has a very stable squad so there was no pressing need to pay over the odds to add anybody quickly in January, however, the team still does need more defensive reinforcements soon.

The best news of this winter for the defending WSL champions came in November, when Sam Kerr signed a new two-year contract extension, keeping one of the very best players in the world at the club until at least the summer of 2024.

Manchester United

League position: 3rd

Players in: Diane Caldwell (defender, free transfer from North Carolina Courage), Jade Moore (midfielder, from Orlando Pride), Signe Bruun (forward, on loan from Lyon)

Players out: None

Telegraph Sport window rating: 4/5

After looking like they might go through the entire window without signing anybody, Manchester United pulled three rabbits out of the hat in the final hours of a dramatic deadline day, to the delight of the supporters.

The arrival of Denmark’s footballer of the year Bruun on loan until the end of the season is a major coup for Marc Skinner’s team, and will go down as one of the highest-profile moves that has ever been pulled off on a WSL deadline day. There was also good news for Manchester United before Christmas when 22-year-old England forward Ella Toone signed a new deal at the club until 2025.

Perhaps the sole disappointment for this January window for Skinner’s team, however, will be that they missed out on signing Blackstenius, who chose Arsenal instead. And, while the addition of Signe Bruun could well prove to be a masterstroke, it is only a loan for the rest of the campaign, whereas Blackstenius is now Arsenal’s player long-term.

Tottenham Hotspur

League position: 4th

Players in: Evaliina Summanen (midfielder, undisclosed fee from Kristianstads), Viktoria Schnaderbeck (defender, on loan from Arsenal)

Players out: None

Telegraph Sport window rating: 3/5

Tottenham will be pleased to have added Austria defender Viktoria Schnaderbeck on loan from neighbours Arsenal on deadline day, with that move being enabled by Rafaelle Souza’s move to Arsenal, and Schnaderbeck will add more international quality to a Tottenham backline which has already been fairly watertight this season.

Finland’s Evaliina Summanen comes with good pedigree and has signed an 18-month deal, but this window did not deliver the fireworks that some Tottenham fans might have been hoping for. There may be some disappointment that they were not able to attract Blackstenius to Hotspur Way, which would likely have hugely enhanced their prospects of qualifying for Europe, however, Rachel Williams and Jessica Naz are having good seasons at the moment.

Manchester City

League position: 5th

Players in: Julie Blakstad (midfielder, undisclosed fee from Rosenborg)

Players out: Jill Scott (midfielder, on loan to Aston Villa)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 3.5/5

Agreeing new deals with England trio Lauren Hemp, Steph Houghton and Esme Morgan will go down as the most important work done by Manchester City during this window, and the addition of 20-year-old Norway hotshot Julie Blakstad has been described by Scandinavian journalists who have followed her career as a “great” piece of business.

Manchester City had been expected to sign a goalkeeper this month, which has never materialised, however, sources have said the management team were suitably impressed by the performances of young goalkeeper Khiara Keating in recent games, that they were reassured enough not to buy a keeper just for the sake of it.

England No 1 Ellie Roebuck is also nearing a return to match fitness, which will provide Gareth Taylor’s team with another big boost in the coming weeks, as they continue to climb back up the table strongly following their fairly disastrous, injury-hit start to the campaign.

Reading

League position: 6th

Players in: Sanne Troelsgaard (midfielder, undisclosed fee from Rosengard)

Players out: Jeon Ga-eul (forward, released)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 2.5/5

Sanne Troelsgaard is one of Denmark’s most experienced and most decorated players and she will bring a great deal of wisdom and quality to this Reading side, who have hit terrific form in recent months, winning four WSL games in a row and going seven league games without defeat.

The exit of versatile attacking player Jeon Ga-eul, a South Korea international who had been with the club since 2020, was the team’s sole departure, being confirmed shortly before New Year’s Eve.

Overall, Kelly Chambers is very happy with her squad, who continue to produce results as a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, and they have to be fairly astute in the transfer market because they are not backed by a men’s Premier League side, unlike the teams around them in the table.

West Ham United

League position: 7th

Players in: Halle Houssein (midfielder, dual-registration with Arsenal), Emma Snerle (midfielder, undisclosed fee from Fortuna Hjorring), Emily Moore (goalkeeper, signed from Vancouver Island Wave)

Players out: None

Telegraph Sport window rating: 3/5

There was a theme to Olli Harder’s recruitment during this window: youth. But that does not mean West Ham’s work in this window isn’t already having an impact. Arsenal’s Halle Houssein is only 17 years old but she hit the ground running with a goal on her debut for the east London club against Chelsea.

Emma Snerle, a 20-year-old Denmark midfielder, has gained experience in the Champions League with her former club Fortuna Hjorring, and is a promising young talent who can boost the team straight away. And young goalkeeper Emily Moore was brought in to provide short-term cover for West Ham’s Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who is away with her country at the Asia Cup.

Harder’s team have been in good form in the league, looking like they will comfortably avoid being dragged into the relegation battle, and they have been able to retain all of their existing players too.

Brighton & Hove Albion

League position: 8th

Players in: Emma Kullberg (defender, undisclosed fee from BK Hacken), Julia Zigiotti Olme (midfielder, undisclosed fee from BK Hacken),

Players out: Josie Longhurst (midfielder, dual-registration with Lewes), Lea Cordier (midfielder, dual-registration with Lewes)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 3/5

Manager Hope Powell has repeatedly found European gems in the market during her time at Brighton and their fans will be hoping that Swedish duo Emma Kullberg and Julia Zigiotti Olme will continue that trend.

In terms of departures, Wales’ Josie Longhurst and Belgium’s Lea Cordier, both 19-year-old academy players, will be able to gain some valuable experience playing in the Championship with Lewes, and without even having to leave the Sussex area.

But it’s been a relatively low-key transfer window for Powell’s side, similarly to several WSL clubs who will do the majority of their business at the end of the season.

Aston Villa

League position: 9th

Players in: Anna Patten (defender, on loan from Arsenal), Jill Scott (midfielder, on loan from Manchester City), Rachel Corsie (defender, undisclosed fee from Kansas City)

Players out: Gemma Davison (released), Missy Goodwin (forward, to Leicester City), Emily Syne (mutual termination), Freya Gregory (on loan to Leicester), Natalie Haigh (on loan to Coventry United), Elisha N’Dow (on loan to Coventry United)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 4/5

Aston Villa have added three players of a very high calibre this month, and the experience that veteran England midfielder Jill Scott and Scotland captain Rachel Corsie will add to the group will be invaluable, especially to nurture some of Villa’s younger players.

Anna Patten, 22, has been widely tipped as a future England star and getting regular game-time with the West Midlands club will aid her development significantly, as well as improving Villa’s backline straight away.

Villa were not able to sign a striker, which they had hoped to do during this window, but manager Carla Ward was upbeat about their progress nonetheless, saying on Friday morning: “We’ve had a really good January. We’ve got some really valuable loans that are going out too, and the three that are coming in [Patten, Scott and Corsie] are exceptional.

“With those [arrivals], morale immediately lifts. And we’ve got [Australia striker] Emily Gielnik coming back [from the Asia Cup] soon which will be massive again, that’ll be like a new signing in two weeks, she’s fit again.”

Everton

League position: 10th

Players in: None

Players out: Cecilia Ran Runarsdottir (goalkeeper, on loan to Bayern Munich)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 1/5

Surprisingly, the teams towards the bottom of the table have all done the least business this month, but in Everton’s case, they recruited heavily last summer, adding nine new players including breaking their club transfer fee to sign teenage Swedish midfielder Hanna Bennison for a fee that was significantly in excess of £100,000 and which Fifa later revealed to be the most expensive women’s signing made by any club in the world over the course of 2021.

But that doesn’t mean they were not hoping to add players in January, as Everton manager Jean-Luc Vasseur said on Friday: “We tried to [bring in] some players but it is a difficult market.”

Sitting seven points clear of the drop zone with two games in hand, the Merseyside club should not be in any great danger of relegation, but their fans were still hoping for a far more successful campaign than the one they are experiencing, and this will therefore go down as a disappointing transfer window for them.

Leicester City

League position: 11th

Players in: Freya Gregory (on loan from Aston Villa), Missy Goodwin (forward, from Aston Villa)

Players out: Abbi Grant (forward, on loan to Glasgow City)

Telegraph Sport window rating: 2/5

Compared to relegation rivals Birmingham, Leicester were expected to be relatively active this month and had cash to spend, but - although they did do some business, which is more than can be said for Birmingham - they had a quieter month than anticipated.

Freya Gregory and Missy Goodwin good prove to be useful additions from Aston Villa, but the East Midlands club’s head coach Lydia Bedford had been hoping to add some more depth to her squad late in the window, telling BBC Radio Leicester on Thursday: "We want competition from the bench, and for starters to feel that they need to perform. We’re working hard in the background."

Nothing materialised for Leicester on deadline day, with sources telling Telegraph Sport they were close to adding England youth international defender Lois Joel on loan from West Ham United on Thursday, but could not quite get a deal completed in time for the 5pm deadline.

Birmingham City

League position: 12th

Players in: None

Players out: None

Telegraph Sport window rating: 0.5/5

With their side bottom of the table and facing relegation this season unless that can pick up more results, Birmingham fans will be hugely disappointed and concerned that they have not made any additions to their squad this month.

Interim head coach Darren Carter was always honest about the team’s budget, admitting they would “have to be savvy” in the market if they were to find anyone they could afford to bring in, and the reality is that he is working with what’s believed to be by far the lowest budget in the league.

Birmingham did not lose any players which stops this window being a 0/5, and picked up a huge, unexpected victory over league leaders Arsenal this month to boost their survival hopes, which is understood to have given the club confidence that the existing squad can keep them up. But will they regret not adding even a single player when the season ends in May?