European season preview
USA internationals and World Cup winners Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle are among the many eye-catching transfers ahead of the 2020-21 campaign
These are strange times, but the transfers of Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis to Manchester City still made major waves. USA internationals have moved from America’s NWSL to England’s WSL before, but they have usually either been winding down their careers (Carli Lloyd at Manchester City, Heather O’Reilly at Arsenal), or still developing it (Crystal Dunn at Chelsea). Lavelle, 25, is a star, arguably the best player at the 2019 World Cup. At 27, Mewis is in her prime, a starter in that victorious USA side and a winner of three of the last four NWSL championships.
The pair’s switch may have been prompted by the abbreviated NWSL season, but they will not be back until after next summer’s Olympics at the earliest and the choice of destination is significant. The WSL is fast emerging as the main rival to the NWSL, with Chelsea previously luring Australia icon Sam Kerr across the Atlantic from Chicago Red Stars. “The WSL is a great league that keeps getting better every year,” said Lavelle. “It is attracting a lot of really great players.”
Part of the draw is the chance to play at venues such as Wembley. In August, Man. City took on Chelsea in the first women’s Community Shield since the WSL began, as part of a double-header with the men’s version, Liverpool v Arsenal – another first.
The deal proved that City, now under former men’s player Gareth Taylor, intend to wrest the title back from
Chelsea. They have also signed England’s Chloe Kelly from Everton, and brought England full-backs Lucy Bronze (ex-City) and Alex Greenwood (ex-United) back to Manchester from Lyon.
Chelsea have strengthened in midfield with Melanie Leupolz and Jessie Fleming, Germany and Canada internationals respectively. Arsenal, the other member of WSL’s “Big Three”, have added Australia’s Lydia Williams and Steph Catley, and Switzerland duo Noelle Maritz and Malin Gut. Among the more notable moves elsewhere, Everton have invested significantly to bring in Valerie Gauvin from Montpellier, England’s Lucy Staniforth has joined Manchester United from Birmingham City, and Danielle Carter seeks to revive her injury-hit career at Reading after 11 years at Arsenal.
Another English striker on the move is Jodie Taylor, who joined Lyon on loan from partner club OL Reign. She won her first medal after five minutes, coming on as a late substitute in the delayed French Cup final victory over Paris Saint-Germain. This was settled, like several games between the teams – including the 2017 Champions League final – by penalties. As in 2017, PSG’s goalkeeper missed the crucial kick, this time Christiane Endler.
While Lyon and PSG will again duel the French title and Wolfsburg look set to maintain supremacy in Germany despite Eintracht Frankfurt’s merger with FFC Frankfurt, honours in Spain and Italy appear less clear-cut. Real Madrid’s move into the women’s game is complete, having now assumed CD Tacon’s name, and they will be expected to challenge Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Similarly Milan, in their third season since buying the licence of Brescia, will hope to press triple champions Juventus much closer after successive third-place finishes. Much-travelled goalscorer Natasha Dowie is the marquee signing with France’s Laura Agard, Germany’s Julia Simic and Denmark’s Caroline Rask also joining.
ACF Fiorentina, who launched the new era in Italian women’s football when they became the first Serie A club to field a female team in 2015, but have since been eclipsed by Juventus, have also invested. Claudia Neto (Wolfsburg), Louise Quinn (Arsenal) and Tessel Middag (West Ham) are their notable foreign signings. Napoli are back in the top flight after winning Serie B but the team is not formally associated with the men’s club.
With no Italian clubs in the last eight of the Champions League, Calcio Femminile Serie A began on August 23, a fortnight earlier than the other major winter leagues.
“The WSL is a great league that keeps getting better every year. It is attracting a lot of really great players”