The summer transfer window for the Women’s Super League concluded before the start of the 2026-27 season, with data highlighting several key aspects of club activity. While the financial figures involved are significantly smaller than those in the Premier League, the approach to transfers in the WSL offers insights into squad development and operational efficiency.
Squad Improvements and Player Valuations
Assessing player quality in women’s football can be challenging due to undisclosed transfer fees. However, by using estimated market values from Soccerdonna, a division of Transfermarkt, clubs’ squad improvements can be evaluated.
Arsenal‘s new acquisitions have a combined value of €3.9m. This figure is slightly higher than the €3.5m worth of talent brought in by London City Lionesses during the summer. These amounts are notable, as the entire squads of eight of the 14 teams in the 2026-27 WSL are valued at less than these sums.
Among the significant additions, London City Lionesses signed a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas, whose individual valuation of €1.15m exceeds the entire squad value of Charlton and is comparable to that of Crystal Palace. West Ham also made substantial changes, with the combined market value of their new players (€1.02m) surpassing the value of their returning players from the previous season (€0.96m). This was a necessary step for West Ham, who finished 10th after winning only three of their first 19 matches.
Squad Stability and Departures
While new signings generate excitement, player departures, especially those of significant contributors, are also crucial for squad health. West Ham, for instance, lost players who contributed 6,322 minutes in the 2025-26 WSL season, representing 29% of their total playing time. The departure of goalkeeper Kinga Szemik, who started 19 of 22 games, was a notable loss.
Only Martina Fernández, with 1,950 minutes for Everton, and Keira Flannery, with 1,891 minutes at Charlton, left current WSL clubs having played more minutes last season. Clubs may have learned from previous seasons; Brighton lost 9,584 minutes of playing time from their 2024-25 squad in the summer 2025 window and subsequently finished two places lower. Similarly, Liverpool saw a significant share of playing time depart, 6,406 minutes, and experienced a slow start to their campaign.
Output, measured by goals and assists, can also be a significant factor. Manchester City and Aston Villa both lost players who contributed at least 13 combined goals and assists last season, namely Kerolin and Kirsty Hanson, respectively. However, Manchester City, as champions, are better positioned to absorb such losses. The 17 goal contributions lost by Aston Villa through player departures constituted 36.2% of their total from the 2025-26 season, the highest proportion among teams in the WSL.
Transfer Window Organisation
The WSL demonstrated a more organised approach to its transfer window compared to the Premier League. The WSL window closed before the new season began, unlike the Premier League, which saw approximately one-sixth of its deals completed on 1 September, after the 2026-27 season had already commenced. More than a third of the money spent on transfer fees in the Premier League this summer occurred after the season started.
In contrast, the WSL had completed 83% of its total signings four weeks before the Premier League reached the same proportion by deadline day. While lower financial deals in the WSL might contribute to this efficiency, global spending on transfer fees in women’s football increased by 83.6% year-on-year, and spending on agent fees by WSL clubs grew by 75% in the year leading up to 3 February 2026, indicating that efficiency is maintained even with rising financial involvement.
This structured approach in the WSL transfer market suggests a level of planning that could offer lessons for other leagues.
Source: theguardian.com