BHA Women

Brighton & Hove Albion have announced the signing of Fran Kirby.  The 31-year-old attacking midfielder left Chelsea at the end of last season when her contract expired.  After starting at Reading, Kirby moved to the Blues in 2015 where she won seven WSL titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, one Community Shield and was part of the Blues squad that reached the Champions League final.  She has been named PFA Women’s Player of the Year twice.  Kirby has won 72 caps for England, scoring 19 goals and was part of the Euros winning squad in 2022. 

Spanish forward Mariona Caldentey has signed for Arsenal where she will wear the number 8 jersey.  The 28-year-old had spent the last ten years with FC Barcelona where she won 25 titles including the league six times, three UEFA Women’s Champions Leagues and six Spanish Cups.  She made 302 appearances and scored 114 goals for the Catalan club.  Caldentey has been capped 72 times by Spain and was part of the squads that won the World Cup in 2023 and the 2023/24 UEFA Women’s Nations League.

Dominique Janssen has signed for Manchester United on a contract until the end of the 2026/27 season with the option of a further year.  Janssen has played in the WSL previously with Arsenal where she won the league, League Cup and FA Cup.  In her most recent spell with VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, the Dutch defender won the Frauen Bundesliga twice and the DFB-Pokal three times.  She has 112 caps for the Netherlands and was part of the squads that won the Euros in 2017 and reached the World Cup final in 2019.

20-year-old midfielder Julia Bartel has joined Chelsea after signing a contract until the summer of 2027 with the option of an additional year.  Bartel joins after playing for FC Barcelona since 2019 where she came up through their academy and before that started in Espanyol’s youth team.  She has mainly featured in Barca’s B team and has won the Spanish second division with them as well as getting some first team experience.  With Spain’s youth sides, Bartel has won the Under-20 World Cup and the Under-19 European Championships.

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Canada international Olivia Smith from Sporting CP.  The 19-year-old can play in midfield and attack and was named Best Young Player of the Campeonato Nacional Feminino after scoring 13 goals and assisting 9 during her 18 appearances in her only season in Portugal.  Smith became Canada’s youngest ever player when she made her debut aged 15 years and 94 days in November 2019 and currently has won 10 senior caps as well as featuring in the 2023 World Cup and 2024 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Kiko Seike has signed for Brighton & Hove Albion from WE League side Urawa Reds, for undisclosed terms.  The 27-year-old striker spent 15 years with her former club where she made over 150 appearances and finished last season as top scorer in the league with 20 goals.  Seike has made 21 appearances for Japan since her debut in 2019 and was part of their squad at the 2023 World Cup as well as being named in their 2024 Olympics squad.

West Ham United have announced the signing of Poland international goalkeeper Kinga Szemik on a three-year contract.  Szemik joins from French side Stade de Reims where she topped the charts in the league for clean sheets in the 2023/24 season.  The 27-year-old also has experience of playing football in Poland and the USA.  She has 17 caps for her country and was part of the squad that won the 2013 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship.

Dutch defender Marisa Olislagers has signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, joining the club after her contract at FC Twente expired.  The 23-year-old won nine domestic trophies during her four years with Twente including three Eredivisie titles, three Eredivisie Cups and the Dutch Women’s Cup.  Olislagers has represented the Netherlands at senior level 12 times and was included in their squad for Euro 2022.

Shekiera Martinez has signed a three-year contract with West Ham United after joining them from Eintracht Frankfurt.  The 22-year-old forward had spent eight years with Frankfurt where she made over 110 appearances and scored 24 goals as well as playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.  She has also played for Germany’s youth international sides.  Martinez will spend the 2024/25 season back in Germany on loan with SC Freiburg where she will accumulate the necessary points to meet the criteria for international player visas.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Anna Leat has signed a new contract with the club until June 2025 with the option to extend for a further year.  New Zealand international Leat joined in the Villans in 2022 from West Ham United and has made 22 appearances for them. 

Chelsea have announced that Melanie Leupolz has left the club after four seasons and joined Real Madrid.  The 30-year-old German midfielder won four WSL titles, three FA Cups and the League Cup and Community Shield once each during her time with the Blues as well as being part of the squad that reached the Champions League final in 2021.  Leupolz played 87 times for Chelsea and scored 12 goals including one in her final game for them as they beat Manchester United 6-0 to win the league in May.

Hanna Bennison has left Everton to join Juventus for an undisclosed fee.  The Sweden international midfielder had been with the Toffees for three years, made 81 appearances in all competitions and scored 8 goals for them.

Former Arsenal superstar and WSL legend Vivianne Miedema has joined Manchester City after a highly successful spell with the London outfit. Miedema has signed a three-year contract with City which will see her play alongside the likes of Bunny Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Yui Hasegawa and Jill Roord.

Speaking about her move, Miedema noted, “I think having thought really hard about my future after leaving Arsenal, the main thing that popped up was that I wanted to be at a team who are playing good football. I think in women’s football right now City have a clear philosophy, they obviously did well last season. If I look at the way I want to play, it really suits it. In the end, it’s obviously a massive bonus as well that I stay in the WSL. I think it was the best fit for me.”