Manchester United Women: A Defining Summer Ahead
Manchester United Women stand at a crossroads.
A Champions League quarter-final last season, and they competed well in it. Yet they still missed out on European football altogether. That contradiction captures exactly where this team live right now: close enough to touch the elite, capable of going toe-to-toe on a good night, but without the depth or durability to stay there across a long, unforgiving campaign.
This is not some great mystery. United only reformed their women’s side eight years ago. City, Arsenal and Chelsea have been building for far longer, stacking titles, infrastructure and institutional know-how. United have moved quickly in that time – Champions League qualification, three cup finals, an FA Cup already on the honours board – but the foundations are still shallower than those of their rivals.
To close that gap was always going to demand bold strides on and off the pitch. The problem? Everyone else is striding too, and United’s steps have not been big enough.
Rivals accelerating while United stall
Squad depth has been the glaring weakness, exposed brutally last season when the fixtures piled up and Champions League nights were added to the schedule. United knew this was coming. They also knew they had not done enough 12 months ago to prepare for it.
Recruitment has not been a disaster. Far from it. Julia Zigiotti Olme and Jess Park were clear hits from last summer’s business. Both improved the starting XI, both looked like players for a title-chasing side. The issue is that they were part of a group of just three signings. Marc Skinner was expected to fight on four fronts with a squad built for two. The strain told.
This summer was supposed to be the correction. So far, it does not look like one.
Look at the pace being set elsewhere.
City, fresh from winning the WSL and FA Cup, made it clear they would not overhaul their squad. They have still added Beth Mead, a proven, high-calibre attacker with a track record of winning; Niamh Charles, another England international who solves a long-standing problem at left-back; and, crucially, they have locked down Khadija Shaw, the WSL Golden Boot winner, on a new deal despite Chelsea circling. Champions don’t stand still. City certainly haven’t.
Arsenal have gone harder still. Seven years without a WSL title is gnawing at them, and their response has been aggressive. In a blistering two-week burst they announced Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle, Selina Cerci, Geraldine Reuteler and Lisa Baum. On top of that, they continue to push for Barcelona free agent Salma Paralluelo. That is the kind of transfer work that doesn’t just nudge you forward; it can drag you to the top.
Even Chelsea, whose window has been messy and frustrating at times, have found ways to improve. Their chase for a striker has been public and painful – turned down by Shaw, then Paralluelo, then Felicia Schroder – yet they have still landed Katie McCabe and snapped up Matsukubo, one of last season’s standout performers in the NWSL at just 21. Reports now point to Paris Saint-Germain’s Romee Leuchter arriving to finally fill that centre-forward void. Amid the noise, quality has still walked through the door.
And United?
Andrea Medina has signed. She is 22, can play at centre-back or left-back, and looks an astute addition who immediately boosts depth in two positions. It is a smart move. It is also the only one.
Noise about exits, silence about arrivals
More worrying than the slow business is the silence around what might come next. Transfer rumours involving United are dominated not by exciting targets, but by the possibility of key players walking away.
Melvine Malard is understood to be closing in on a move to Chelsea. The Athletic reports that United are open to selling Elisabeth Terland, their top scorer last season, if a suitable offer arrives. The logic is clear: cash in now and reinvest, rather than lose the Norway international for nothing when her deal expires next summer. From a business standpoint, it makes sense. From a footballing perspective, the risk is enormous.
Terland turned down a new contract in November. She is not alone in having an uncertain future. Ella Toone is also out of contract next year. Asked recently about her plans, the England midfielder did not offer any reassurance.
"Obviously it’s now time to talk," she said. "I just know I have got to make a decision on what’s best for me."
When your rivals are locking down their stars and adding more, that kind of uncertainty bites. It shapes dressing-room mood. It shapes the market’s view of you.
The threat from below
United’s gaze cannot stay fixed solely on City, Arsenal and Chelsea. There is danger behind them as well.
London City Lionesses are the clearest example of that shifting landscape. Backed by billionaire Michele Kang, who also owns Washington Spirit and eight-time European champions Lyon, they have detonated the window with the signing of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas. Alongside her come four-time Champions League winner Mapi Leon, former Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps and prolific Germany forward Nicole Anyomi. That is not a mid-table club behaving like a mid-table club.
Tottenham, who finished just four points and one place behind United last season after drawing both league games against them, have also wasted no time. Five signings are already in, including Shekiera Martinez, who scored 16 goals in 32 league matches for a struggling West Ham; Kirsty Hanson, outscored only by Shaw and Alessia Russo in the WSL last term; and goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen, who reportedly turned down Arsenal and PSG to join Spurs. That is targeted, ambitious business.
Brighton, another side who caused United real problems last season and reached the FA Cup final in May, have strengthened too. The capture of former Arsenal midfielder Lia Walti is a statement in its own right and a serious upgrade in the middle of the pitch.
The message is blunt: standing still in this league is not an option. Stand still and you slide.
United’s dilemma
Skinner has already admitted that United cannot simply try to outspend the new money flooding into the women’s game. Last summer, as fees for players like Olivia Smith to Arsenal and Grace Geyoro to London City surged into seven figures, he was candid.
"The reality is we have to try and find our own way to do it," he said.
United did make some shrewd moves in that context. They just did not make enough of them. The squad never looked built to handle a season stretched across four competitions.
That particular burden will not exist this time. There is no Champions League. In theory, that should help. City used the absence of European football to their advantage last season, managing the schedule, sharpening their focus and finally ending a decade-long wait for another WSL crown. United will hope to do something similar: fewer games, fresher legs, more time on the training ground.
There is also optimism that the players who arrived in January can offer far more after a full pre-season. Lea Schuller is the obvious case study. She arrived from Bayern Munich with a formidable goal record but scored only twice in her first 18 appearances. Six months of adaptation are now behind her. United need the Bayern version of Schuller to emerge, and quickly.
But none of that changes the basic equation. This squad still needs serious reinforcement if it is to trade blows with City, Arsenal and Chelsea, and hold off the rapidly improving pack behind them. One versatile defender will not do it. Nor will a window dominated by talk of exits and expiring contracts.
This is a defining summer for Manchester United Women. The league is accelerating, the money is rising, the margins are shrinking.
United can either match that urgency in the coming weeks, or watch the gap – in both directions – grow wider than ever.
