Ameé Ruszkai

When Manchester City signed Vivianne Miedema on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer of 2024, it felt like one of the biggest coups in Women's Super League history. The Cityzens were not only signing the league's all-time top-scorer, they were also directly weakening a title rival in the process.

As investment in the women’s game continues to grow, each and every transfer window feels bigger and bigger, as both the anticipation and likelihood of new record transfers and big money moves for the game’s greatest stars increases. In that sense, January is never as headline-grabbing as the summer window, but there has still been plenty of eye-catching business over the last few weeks - especially in the Women’s Super League.

England's most recent debutante, Anouk Denton, has joined NWSL club Bay FC from West Ham in what is reportedly a club-record sale for the Hammers. The 22-year-old defender won her first cap for the Lionesses back in December and is now set for a new chapter in 2026, moving to the United States after impressing in London for the last three years.

Chelsea's 2024-25 Women's Super League season was an all-timer. Undefeated through 22 games - the first team ever to achieve that in the competition's history - while also registering a record points return of 60, the Blues ascended to unprecedented levels of dominance in their first year under new head coach Sonia Bompastor. What has gone wrong, then, that means the six-time defending champions are on the brink of relinquishing their crown less than a year later?

Arsenal have been given some extremely positive news after goalkeeper Anneke Borbe was discharged from hospital following a nasty looking head injury in Sunday's FIFA Women's Champions Cup triumph over Corinthians. There was serious concern for the 25-year-old but it appears her situation may not be as bad as first feared.

Arsenal icon Katie McCabe is set to leave the club at the end of the season as the Gunners prepare for what is going to be a huge summer. The Ireland international is one of 10 players soon to be out of contract in north London and, as Arsenal near deals for both England's Georgia Stanway and Barcelona's Ona Batlle, her 11-year stay at the club will reportedly come to an end.

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has explained why Lionesses star Lucy Bronze missed out on Sunday's Women's Super League defeat to table toppers Manchester City. The England defender was a surprise absentee from the teamsheet at the Etihad Stadium and there will be concern that she could be unavailable for even longer, having felt pain in the same shin that she broke during the 2025 European Championship.

Manchester City have one hand on the Women's Super League trophy after opening up an 11-point gap at the top of the table on Sunday by beating Chelsea, the six-time reigning champions, 5-1. Blues boss Sonia Bompastor admitted last week that she felt the title race was already over and this result only strengthened that feeling, as a Kerolin hat-trick and goals for Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema gave the Cityzens what is surely an unassailable lead with just eight games remaining.

When the Women's Super League fixtures for the 2025-26 season were released, this Sunday's clash between Manchester City and Chelsea was pinpointed as a big one. That feeling only intensified through the first few weeks of the campaign, as the two teams in blue marked themselves out as the best in the division, winning 12 of their first 14 games combined to sit in the two spots at the top of the table. However, what has transpired in the last three months has made this weekend's meeting feel much less decisive.

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Arsenal failed to take advantage of a huge opportunity to open up a four-point cushion inside the Champions League places on Saturday, forced to settle for just a point in a 0-0 draw with Manchester United despite the Red Devils being reduced to 10 just past the hour. The Gunners created plenty of chances and really should've come away with the win but were let down by their finishing on a disappointing day out.

United States international Jenna Nighswonger looks to be finally set for some regular game time after completing a loan move away from Arsenal. The full-back has found opportunities hard to come by since joining the Women's Super League club last January but has now secured a temporary switch that should change that - one which also includes an option to buy.

Lionesses star Georgia Stanway has confirmed that she will leave Bayern Munich this summer, paving the way for a potential return to England and the Women's Super League. The midfielder's next destination has not been officially revealed just yet but Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for the two-time European Championship winner, who previously spent seven years at Manchester City.

As London City Lionesses prepared for their first season in the Women's Super League, the excitement and anticipation was palpable. Fuelled by the finances of billionaire owner Michele Kang, the independent club from the capital made a serious splash in the summer transfer window, with a deadline-day, world-record deal for France midfielder Grace Geyoro acting as the exclamation point. But despite such heavy investment, with half a season gone, things haven't panned out exactly as Kang and her staff would've liked.

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers has been rewarded with a new long-term deal after an extraordinary 2025 in which she led the Gunners to Women's Champions League glory. Slegers was due to be out of contract this summer but the club has now acted to secure her signature for the next three-and-a-half years, handing the 36-year-old a deal that runs through to 2029.

Arsenal have had their fair share of success stories over the years when it comes to the women's side of the academy. Leah Williamson, England's two-time European Championship-winning captain, and Lotte Wubben-Moy, also part of those triumphs with the Lionesses, are two of the most high-profiles examples of players who have progressed through the youth set-up and become key members of the first team - and they will not be the last.

Manchester United have extended the expiring contract of Lionesses star Ella Toone, as well as those of Elisabeth Terland, Lisa Naalsund and Gabby George, until the summer of 2027. All four were set to become free agents in just six months' time, meaning they were also free to discuss moves with any suitors from abroad following the turn of the New Year. However, United have acted to trigger one-year clauses for the quartet, with all eyes now on if longer deals can be struck with the players.

Manchester United's season so far has been dominated by criticisms of the preparation, or lack thereof, done before it. After making just three summer signings, while bidding farewell to two first-team players, the Red Devils' squad looked completely ill-equipped for the challenge of competing in the Women's Champions League proper for the first time, if they were to also remain a contender on a domestic front. But having rather admirably kept themselves afloat despite those issues, United are already attacking the January window with the necessary, and overdue, vigour needed.