The January transfer window has now closed but not much business has been done in Manchester - other than the record bids for United's Alessia Russo on the penultimate day of the window.
Arsenal were reported to have made world record bids for Russo, which would have topped the current record which was made when Keira Walsh made her move to Barcelona last year for £400,000.
While fighting for WSL titles and Champions League qualification spots, the squad selection for England bears heavy on the players' minds as this summer's Women’s World Cup edges closer. Players such as Lucy Staniforth have made the transition elsewhere for minutes to impress Lioness boss Sarina Wiegman ahead of the international training camp.
Luckily, neither Manchester United nor City are plagued with serious injuries, forcing their hand to conduct transfer business in the new year, compared to other WSL teams such as Arsenal who have top attacking talent in Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema out for the rest of the season. But that doesn’t mean squad reinforcements are not on the cards for either club.
Below, the Manchester Evening News takes you through the deals that have been done, so far in Manchester.
Manchester City
Nobody has entered the City camp in the January transfer window, manager Gareth Taylor said: “We’re happy with the players we’ve got here. We haven't seen them as a team perform to their best level today but I think their performance levels, in general, have been really good. We’re capable, we know we are and I don’t think that looking to bring in players at this period of the year is right for us.”
However two players have left the club Ruby Mace and Vicky Loasada. Mace joins WSL side Leicester City on loan for the remainder of the season after suffering with a thigh injury that curtailed her availability to start the season with the Sky Blues.
After 18-months at the club, Losada also struggled for playing time due to injury after a continental cup clash in October. Having not returned to league action since, she made the move to Italian Serie A outfit, AS Roma.
Manchester United
The Reds have made three signings so far in this transfer window while also seeing two players leave.
Canadian international Jayde Riviere joins Skinner's squad from an American semi-professional side, United Soccer League Club AFC in Ann Arbour. While Ona Batlle is one of the best right-backs in the country, Riviere’s arrival puts speculation across the back line now both of the starting full-backs in Batlle and Hannah Blundell alongside Maria Thorisdottir are up for a contract extension in the summer, should they take it.
Estelle Cascarino also joins the United ranks on loan from Paris Saint Germain. The French international offers another shake-up for Skinner’s back line as she brings an abundance of experience at the top with spells at Bordeaux, Paris FC and Olympique Lyon, winning two Division 1 titles and two French Cups.
Skinner's bid for Norwegian midfielder Lisa Naalsund came to fruition as she is the lastest to join the club until the summer of 2026 from SK Brann
As a versatile talent, she could slot into United’s midfield setup in both an attacking or deeper defending role effortlessly fitting directly into Skinner’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation - able to confidently cover Katie Zelem, Ella Toone and Hayley Ladd in the central midfield trio.
The interest of Naalsund may have sparked a move for Lucy Staniforth, she was left at home to finalise her deal with Aston Villa when the rest of the squad travelled to Malta for their warm-weather training camp in early January. The 30-year-old struggled to feature in Marc Skinner's starting XI this season, making just four appearances against Brighton, Leicester, Everton and Chelsea, with only two starts, zero goals and zero assists.
The move to Villa will give her much-needed playing time to get back into the England set-up after narrowly missing out on the 23-player European squad last summer, having been named in the initial 28.
Grace Clinton has been sent out on loan to Championship side Bristol City for the remainder of the season as she is yet to make an appearance for the club, despite leaving Everton for the Reds on a three-year deal.
Two academy graduates, Safia Middleton-Patel and Jess Simpson, also signed their first senior contracts with United this transfer window.
Simpson, who has been at the club since the age of 11, made her first appearance in the 10-0 friendly victory over Birkirkara FC in Malta. Meanwhile, Middleton-Patel, who has called the club home since the age of 15, has served as back-up to Mary Earps, Sophie Baggaley and Emily Ramsay and made impressive strides in the Welsh national team set-up.
With their respective signings, the goalkeeper and defender become the tenth and eleventh academy graduates to sign for the women’s first team since its reformation in 2018.
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