Yahoo Sports The biggest Women’s Super League deals of the summer transfer window
The transfer window slammed shut for Women’s Super League clubs on Friday evening as the new season draws closer.
The summer saw a flurry of activity for what should prove to be an open and competitive WSL campaign. Reigning champions Chelsea have refreshed, Arsenal have a new striker, Manchester City made a raft of signings, and Manchester United lost a bunch of key players.
With 2024/25 kicking off on 21 September, we’ve picked out some of the most high-profile moves in the top flight from the past few months.
WSL: The biggest deals of the 2024 summer transfer window
Lucy Bronze – Barcelona to Chelsea (free)
Emma Hayes may have left west London to go manage the USWNT, but Chelsea still possess one of the strongest squads in European football. This summer they went about bolstering it by bringing home one of the Lionesses’ biggest stars, Lucy Bronze.
The five-time Champions League winner returns to the WSL after two trophy-laden years at Barcelona. She will have her sights set firmly on adding more silverware to her collection this season.
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Vivianne Miedema – Arsenal to Man City, free
Talk about a statement signing. The WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer left the Gunners after seven years in north London in the summer and upped sticks to join Manchester City.
With Bunny Shaw already among their ranks, Gareth Taylor’s side possess immense firepower up front. That said, she has started just eight league matches over the past two seasons due to injury, including an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear in December 2022.
City will be hoping the Dutch star can rekindle the form of old and help the team win a first top-flight title win since 2016.
Mary Earps – Man Utd to PSG (free)
England’s number one joined Paris Saint-Germain on a three-year deal after two years of talks with Manchester United over a new contract came to nothing.
Mary Earps, who was named goalkeeper of the year at the FIFA Best Awards in 2022 and 2023, won the FA Cup in her final season at the club before bidding bon voyage.
She is one of eleven players to leave United this year, including Nikita Parris. Time will tell if they have replaced them adequately.
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Fran Kirby – Chelsea to Brighton (free)
It will be strange not seeing Fran Kirby in a Chelsea shirt anymore. The England international spent eight glorious years at the club, winning an incredible seven WSL title, five FA Cups, and two League Cups.
The 31-year-old attacker starts a new chapter with Brighton, who will be hoping she can help them avoid another relegation battle.
Olivia Smith – Sporting CP to Liverpool (£210,000)
Liverpool think they may have a star in the making after buying young midfielder Olivia from Sporting Club de Portugal in the summer.
She became the youngest footballer, male or female, to play for Canada when she made her debut at the age of 15 years and 94 days in 2019. She’s one of just three signings the Reds have made ahead of the new season.
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Alisha Lehmann – Aston Villa to Juventus (undisclosed)
One of the WSL’s most recognisable faces left England earlier this summer as Alisha Lehmann joined her partner Douglas Luiz in swapping Aston Villa for Juventus.
The Switzerland winger, who has 17 million followers on Instagram, had been in the WSL for the past seven years, having previously played for West Ham and Everton before joining Villa in 2021.
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