WSL transfer window: The 7️⃣ biggest stories of the summer | OneFootball

With Friday marking the start of the new FA Women’s Super League season, plenty has changed over the summer.

Here are six WSL transfer window talking points to get you up to speed ahead of the new season.

Exodus at Manchester City

Calling it a rebuild doesn’t do it justice. Manchester City had nine players make 13 or more WSL starts in 2021/22 but head into 2022/23 without six of them.

Lucy Bronze left for Barcelona, with Keira Walsh following for world record fee this summer. Creative forces Caroline Weir (Real Madrid) and Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich) have also moved abroad, and legendary striker Ellen White has retired.

The last point is the least of an issue after Bunny Shaw scored nine times in nine starts (17 appearances) last season but the rest has to be a worry and a whole host of signings need to gel very, very quickly for the new campaign to be a success.

Euro 2022 hero returns

Rachel Daly joining Aston Villa could be the signing of the summer and fans who have only watched her on England duty could be in for a treat.

The Lionesses use Daly at left-back but she is a striker by trade. The 30-year-old has, bar a 2020 loan spell with West Ham, been in the US since 2013 but a homecoming as a star striker should cause plenty of excitement.

Chelsea sign a superstar

There is never a hint of complacency at Chelsea, where a near-perfect season has been followed up by the arrival of world class centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan from Lyon.

She isn’t the only arrival, with Ève Périsset also in to strengthen the defence and a host of midfield and forward depth also joining, including impressive Czech international Kateřina Svitková from West Ham.

There are minutes up for grabs after Ji So-yun, Drew Spence, Joanna Andersson all left but Chelsea look better placed than ever.

Man Utd strengthen

After three fourth-place finishes in a row, Manchester United have their sights set on finally breaking into the top three and having a crack at the Women’s Champions League.

And it has been an ambitious summer for a club that, in truth, should have even loftier aims than just finishing third.

Ona Battle has stayed despite links to Barcelona and fellow defender Aïssatou Tounkara has joined, as has the incredibly highly-rated Maya Le Tissier.

Further forward, United have added Nikita Parris from Arsenal and Adriana Leon from West Ham. That squad looks very impressive now, even with the late sale of Jackie Groenen, and Marc Skinner will be aiming high.

Have Arsenal done enough?

After back-to-back seasons saw Arsenal struggle in big games and fail to join the mix for the title, Jonas Eidevall had the Gunners back in contention in 2021/22.

But have they done enough over the summer to challenge Chelsea all season long again?

The addition of Lina Hurtig adds more depth and variety up front after the exit of Nikita Parris but they could be light in midfield with no obvious deputy for the crucial Lia Wälti.

Promoted Liverpool bring a big name back

Liverpool are back in the top flight and Shanice van de Sanden is back at Liverpool.

The iconic Dutch winger, formerly of Lyon and Wolfsburg, has a point to prove having missed out on the Netherlands squad for the Euros.

The 29-year-old three-time Champions League winner could be crucial for a side that looks more than ready to make its mark on the top tier.

What now for Spurs, West Ham, Brighton?

Three very solid WSL clubs in recent seasons could have very different campaigns this time around.

For Tottenham that could be a good thing. They have been organisationally brilliant over the past two seasons but lacked goals and have looked to correct that with the signings of

The glass may not be quite so full at West Ham, where improvement under Olli Harder will now have to be continued under last season’s assistant Paul Konchesky after a surprise resignation. The exits of make his task even trickier.

And Konchesky isn’t alone, with Brighton and Hope Powell looking like another ‘best of the rest’ contender last season but also losing a number of key names heading into this one.