Many facets of the women’s game have blossomed over the course of the last decade as the Women’s Super League has grown: from attendances to media coverage, TV audiences to public interest.

Traditionally, the biggest transfers in the women’s game involved Arsenal raiding other sides in the top flight for the cream of the crop and then winning the league. Again.

But as the profile of the WSL has increased, so has the profile of transfers that are being pulled off. From rivals stealing key players from one another, to the coup of a big name overseas star, let’s take a look at the biggest statement signings in WSL history.

(Our definition of biggest signing is how much did the move make you go: ‚wow, we can’t believe they landed her‘?)

Manchester United’s first ever overseas recruit was a big one. Jackie Groenen was United’s first internationally acclaimed signing. The midfielder had been an integral part of the Holland side that had blown away the rest of the competition with their blistering attacking football en route to winning the 2017 European Championships, playing every minute and being named in the team of the tournament.

The Dutch international was being pursued by a number of sides across Europe, but she chose United – opting to return to the WSL following her 18-month spell with Chelsea between 2014-15. During her time with the Blues she was still an up and coming talent, yet to make her senior Netherlands debut, but when United signed Groenen she was a fully fledged international star.

Arsenal were not a side accustomed to losing players. They were Arsenal. And when they did lose players, this was often to the bright lights and professionalism of the United States, not to genuine league rivals.

But in 2014, Chelsea raided the Gunners for Gilly Flaherty and Katie Chapman. Midfielder Chapman was an England icon, and had been a key part of the Arsenal side that had enjoyed such domestic dominance in the 2010s. This was a transfer that suggested the tides were turning in the women’s game, and Chelsea went on to clinch their first pieces of silverware the following year.

Everton have made some big signings over the past 12 months, but really showed their ambitions by splashing the cash on French forward Gauvin.

The Toffees paid a reported £100,000 to bring the striker to Merseyside, making her one of the five most expensive signings of 2020. A member of France’s 2019 World Cup squad and a prolific scorer at club and international level, this was a big move from Everton.

Lucy Bronze had just won successive WSL titles with Liverpool and had been awarded the 2014 PFA Player of the Season – some feat for a right back. But shortly after the Reds‘ second title triumph, the full back opted to trade her league winning team for a side in just their second season in the top flight.

Manchester City had just one year of WSL experience under their belt, but demonstrated the height of their ambitions by raiding the league champions for their star player. Bronze then rose to international attention at the 2015 World Cup and City won the WSL the following year. Maybe more on her later.

Arsenal really lost the spine of their team ahead during the 2014 transfer window, as upstarts Manchester City signed Gunners captain Steph Houghton ahead of their inaugural WSL campaign.

Houghton had shot to fame during the 2012 Olympics when she scored three goals in three group games from left back for Team GB. She had won six major trophies in three years with Arsenal, and had already been capped 40 times by England. It was a huge show of ambition from City, as the club had only just been awarded a licence to play in the top flight.

Liverpool had begun heavily investing in their women’s side ahead of the 2012 season, and Fara Williams was their statement signing. She was one of the first names on the team sheet for England, was considered one of the league’s top midfielders and one of the best players in the top flight not on Arsenal’s books.

Williams had been synonymous with Everton. She was the Toffees‘ talisman, and had spent eight years with the club as they attempted to knock Arsenal off their perch. However, she crossed Merseyside to sign for rivals Liverpool – as did teammates Natasha Dowie and Lucy Bronze. Having spent eight years being a serial runner up with Everton, she won successive WSL titles during her first two seasons with the Reds.

In September 2018, Aston Villa lost 12-0 to Manchester United. In January 2021, they signed World Cup winner and current Japan captain Mana Iwabuchi.

The technically gifted midfielder was part of Japan’s famous 2011 World Cup triumph, and was an integral part in her country’s subsequent runs to the finals of the 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup. This would be a huge signing for any WSL side – let alone one fighting relegation.

Crystal Dunn became the most high profile player from the United States to join the WSL when she signed for Chelsea in 2017. She had not been a part of the USA’s 2015 World Cup winning campaign but had begun to establish herself as a national team regular, featuring during their 2016 SheBelieves Cup victory. Dunn’s star has ascended further since departing the Blues, and she is now one of the USWNT’s most recognisable faces.

Dunn was a big name in domestic football in the States, having become the youngest player to win NWSL Golden Boot and MVP award during the 2015 season with Washington Spirit. The signing was big for Chelsea, but also the WSL. Domestic football in the States had been streaks ahead of England for so long, but for a USA international to trade the American league for the UK showed what huge strides were being made.

Manchester City snapped up World Cup winner and seasoned USA international Sam Mewis as they ran riot in the 2020 transfer window.

The midfielder had been an integral part of the USWNT’s 2019 World Cup triumph, playing six of her country’s seven games at the tournament and summing up everything that is imperious of the USWNT with her incredible athleticism and technical ability. She took to the WSL like a duck to water.

Manchester City took a breather from all their transfer activity to briefly play some actual football towards the back end of 2020 – before snapping up their third World Cup winner in the shape of Abby Dahlkemper in January 2021.

The centre back missed just eight minutes across the entire 2019 tournament, and was the only USWNT outfield player to start every game. Signing her on a two-and-a-half year deal was a huge statement for City and suggests that the WSL is not just for the pandemic, it’s for life.

Liverpool and Bristol City were the first WSL teams to bring in a selection of foreign players ahead of the 2012 season, but Chelsea recruited the league’s first overseas star in 2014 when they announced the signing of South Korea international Ji So-yun in 2014.

Ji was just 22 at the time, but was considered one of the best midfielders in the world, having made her senior international debut at the age of 15. It was a watershed moment for the WSL, and Ji’s class was instantly recognised as she scooped the PFA Player of the Year award during her first season in the WSL. She will go down as one of the league’s all-time greats.

Shortly after Chelsea announced the signing of Crystal Dunn, Arsenal brought in an American superstar of their own. Heather O’Reilly had been capped 231 times for the United States, was a three-time Olympic champion and a World Cup winner. She was a bit of a big deal.

The winger was 32 and had retired from international football that summer, but was one of the games most recognisable faces. Arsenal signed O’Reilly in January, and a 20-year-old Vivianne Miedema joined that summer as the club began to get their swagger back.

Manchester United announced the two biggest signings in the club’s history within the space of a few hours of one another.

Two-time World Cup winner and USWNT centurion Press was the second to be unveiled. A player of global pedigree, the forward had played a starring role in her country’s 2019 World Cup triumph the previous summer and was the only player to feature in all 24 of her country’s matches that calendar year.

Back again.

When City signed Bronze back in 2014, she was establishing herself as one of the best player’s in the country. Fast forward six years and City re-signed a triple Champions League winner widely considered not only the world’s best right back but one of the best players in the world football.

Manchester City snapped up one of the breakout stars of the 2019 World Cup when they completed the signing of Lavelle on a one-year deal.

It’s not easy to stand out in the USWNT illustrious side, but the midfielder shone in France and her performances saw her win the tournament’s Bronze Ball. This was City signing one of the finest players in world football.

The biggest signing in Manchester United’s short history saw them recruit USWNT icon Tobin Heath.

The tricky forward had been an enduring face of the USWNT for over a decade, winning two Olympic gold medals, two World Cups and racking up over 160 appearances for her country before she moved to Manchester in 2020. This was a massive signing for the Red Devils.

The 2020 WSL transfer window just became ridiculous when the Alex Morgan spontaneously joined league minnows Tottenham on deadline day.

The footballing icon was a double World Cup winner, an Olympic champion and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrity 2019. It was just a brief, three month loan move while Morgan regained match sharpness after giving birth, and with the forward still working her way back to full fitness the league understandably never saw the best of her. But it was still Alex Morgan. On the pitch at Barnet.

She may have only been on loan at Manchester City for just the shortened 2017 WSL Spring Series, but it was still Carli Lloyd. The USA international scored a hat trick in the 2015 World Cup final – completing her treble with a stunning solo strike from half way – was a double Olympic champion, a two-time world player of the year and boasted over 200 caps for her country. Lloyd is quite simply a football icon, and WSL fans had such a treat seeing her playing in the UK.

But you can still be a football icon and get sent off for elbowing a Yeovil striker in the face, as Lloyd did in what was her final game for City – Annie Heatherson the victim. That is what we call a quintessentially English experience.

The WSL had attracted global super stars before, but when Chelsea signed Sam Kerr, it was the first time a world class player at the peak of their powers had come to play in the English top flight on a permanent deal.

The Australian international is regarded as one of the greatest forwards on the planet; she is the record goal scorer in both the NWSL and Australian W-League, a Ballon d’Or nominee and a scorer of a hat-trick at the 2019 World Cup. Still aged just 26, Chelsea and the WSL should get to see the very best years of Kerr’s career.

Chelsea broke the women’s transfer world record to land 2018 Uefa Player of the Year and 2018/19 Champions League top scorer Pernille Harder – a fee believed to be in the region of £250,000.

Normally, the only destination for a player like Harder would have been Lyon. WSL clubs sign players who blossom into world beaters (see Vivianne Miedema), but rarely did the English top flight attract a player widely considered to presently be the best in the world – and on a three-year deal to boot.