How WSL recruitment is changing window by window
The English top division has spent the most money of any league so far in 2024, but the way in which clubs are recruiting is changing, through a combination of dedicated staff and data usage...
One key area which continues to develop and evolve as the women’s game grows around the world is the infamous transfer window.
In FIFA’s 2024 mid-year report, statistics showed transfer expenditure had more than doubled from 12 months ago to $6.8m around the world.
Unsurprisingly, given the stature of the country in football, the success of the Lionesses in recent years, a league filled now with 12 Premier League-backed club and lucrative sponsorship and TV deals compared to some of their rival leagues, a good chunk of that $6.8m came in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
$2.33m, to be precise, compared to $1.35m in Spain and $1.14m in the USA, the only other two leagues to break the $1m barrier.
It means every transfer window is getting both bigger and busier, and this summer saw moves such as Vivianne Miedema to Manchester City, Sandy Baltimore to Chelsea, Mariona Caldentey to Arsenal and many more, with even the clubs near the bottom recruiting from far and wide, and the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion luring names such as Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris.
Many clubs now have dedicated recruitment staff, such as Manchester United with Head of Recruitment Harvey Bussell, or West Ham United with their equivalent in Mark Higgins and Brighton with Ed Gallagher.
Others frame the titles differently, such as Player Recruitment Officer Kevin Murphy at Arsenal, while even some Championship clubs now like London City Lionesses, Birmingham City and even newly promoted Portsmouth have dedicated recruitment staff.
Combined with a rise in data usage across the board, with WFC being told by several sources more and more clubs are now leaning on data and statistics to lead their recruitment strategies, it shows have much the transfer window is evolving year on year, and in the WSL the international incomings are going up and up with every window.
One club which certainly reaped the benefits last season was Leicester City, with Finland international Jutta Rantala in particular one of the signings of the season, as well as January recruit Yuka Momiki.
The financial might of the WSL means even clubs in the relegation battles can attract players from top clubs in some of the lesser ranked nations, but it’s too simplistic to suggest clubs are simply splashing the cash without a dedicated recruitment programme in place.
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“I think that’s credit to our analyst and our data analyst for going out and finding these players, because at the end of the day that’s where it starts and then those players get brought to us,” said former interim head coach, Jen Foster.
“They were the guys who found Jutta and the likes of Yuka and Saori [Takarada] too. That’s a huge benefit for us, in terms of Jutta’s performances and the impact she’s had, it’s been huge.
Liverpool too reaped the rewards of smart investment last season, with Matt Beard’s side climbing to fourth in the league, finishing above Manchester United.
Midfielder Fuka Nagano was a key acquisition, as was Austria’s Marie Höbinger, forward Sophie Roman Haug and speedy winger Mia Enderby, while at the back the partnership of Grace Fisk and Jenna Clark, both also signed last summer, proved pivotal.
“I think first and foremost when we’re looking at the personnel we want to bring in, we’ll look at data and clips, but for me one of the first things we do in any call we have is just getting to know them,” said Beard.
“At that point, when you’re talking to a player, you know they’re a good player, but you want a good balance and if I look at our midfield for example, we had [Missy] Bo [Kearns] and Marie who have shared that tennis role, if you like, back and forth. Ceri [Holland]’s been amazing with her physicality, I think she’s got everything. You’ve got Fuka as well, the midfield balance was really important to me.”
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