Jess Carter, Delphine Cascarino & the 15 best signings of the NWSL mid-season transfer window – ranked

It's been a tough season so far for the Utah Royals, with just eight goals scored in 16 NWSL games. However, the club has acted to address those attacking issues in the mid-season transfer window, first with the signing of Japan international striker Mina Tanaka.

The 30-year-old arrives in the U.S. with an excellent scoring record from her home country and a very respectable total of 34 goals in 86 international caps. She can be prone to a wasteful game or two, there’s no hiding from that, but Tanaka’s movement is good, she will score goals and perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this move is that she will give the Royals a focal point in attack for players like Ally Sentnor, shining in her rookie year, and Cloe Lacasse (more on her later) to bounce off in a bid to improve Utah’s fortunes.

It always felt like the Portland Thorns would be in the market for a goalkeeper this summer, with Emily Alvarado traded to the Houston Dash and Bella Bixby having announced her pregnancy in January. It was just whether the club would pursue a star shot-stopper or someone to provide cover behind Shelby Hogan, who has impressed in her first year as a starter.

By signing Mackenzie Arnold, Portland has gone for the former and acquired a goalkeeper who has impressed plenty on the international stage with Australia. This is going to be a different challenge for the 30-year-old, who will sit behind a much better defense with the Thorns in comparison to that she has worked with for the past four seasons at West Ham, but she’ll feel ready to take that next step. Arnold’s addition is likely to only help Hogan, too, as the two battle it out for minutes.

It’s not only in attack that Utah has strengthened during the mid-season break. In Claudia Zornoza, it has brought to the club an excellent holding midfielder, someone who was part of the Spain squad that won the 2023 Women’s World Cup and has impressed consistently for Real Madrid over the last three years.

The 33-year-old will join Amandine Henry, the France star who arrived in April, in the middle of the park as the Royals try to ensure a leaky defense – the joint-worst in the NWSL – is better protected. However, that the club hasn’t improved the actual back line in this window is a problem and won’t make Zornoza’s task easy, even if she is a fantastic addition.

Washington’s friendly match against Arsenal earlier this month offered fans a glimpse at what Rosemonde Kouassi can bring to the table, following her arrival from Fleury. The 22-year-old has penned a four-year deal, with the value for the future only making this a better transfer, and looks capable of going to new levels after three promising seasons in France.

In that clash with the Gunners, Kouassi and Ouleymata Sarr worked together to cause the opponent so many problems with their energy, hard work and pace in behind. With Trinity Rodman to come back and add another dimension to the three-pronged attack, head coach Jonatan Giraldez will hope Kouassi can help make this attack, already the joint-second best in the NWSL this season, an even greater nightmare for the league’s defenders.

If the Kansas City Current was in desperate need of defensive recruits, the signing of Alana Cook, an established NWSL star and someone who has represented the USWNT 29 times, would rank higher. Still, although the team sits in an impressive second place with just one defeat all year, Cook will definitely improve it as the latter stages of the season approach.

The Current's status as the highest scorers in the league, with 40 goals in 16 outings, means its joint-sixth best defensive record hasn't really held it back. However, it will need to be sturdier in the postseason and Cook can help there. The 27-year-old has a point to prove too, having not been called up by the USWNT since December, and will hope her international fortunes can change as she begins a new chapter in Kansas City.

Seattle Reign’s attack needs help. This season in the NWSL, it ranks joint-10th for goals scored, 10th for big chances created and 12th for expected goals, in a 14 team league. Fortunately, in Nerilia Mondesir, a significant reinforcement has arrived.

Nicknamed 'Nerigol', the 25-year-old has an incredibly prolific record at international level and has had goal-scoring joy in her wide role with Montpellier in recent seasons, too. She’ll bring something different to the table for Laura Harvey’s side, cause defenders new problems and, alongside versatile mid-season signing Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, hopefully help this frontline find the back of the net much more than it has been so far in 2024.

When Manaka Matsukubo's loan deal from Mynavi Sendai came up in June, it was an absolute no-brainer for the North Carolina Courage to take up the option for a permanent transfer. That’s because the 20-year-old has been superb for the club since arriving last summer.

“For her to have the game and technical intelligence she possesses, at her age, is something you don’t often see,” head coach Sean Nahas said upon the announcement that Matsukubo would be staying put. “We can’t wait to continue to see her evolution here in North Carolina and for her to continue to add to the success of our club.”

With the Courage bolstering the attacking line during this summer, through the additions of Australia forward Cortnee Vine and Brazil wonderkid Aline Gomes, and Kerolin primed to return after making her injury comeback in the Olympics, Matsukubo’s attacking numbers are sure to only grow moving forward, too.

The Orlando Pride entered the mid-season break having enjoyed an almost flawless first 16 games, with no defeats, a three-point cushion at the top of the NWSL table and the best defensive record in the league. However, if there was one area it could improve in the transfer window, it was in adding a little more experience to the backline and, in Carson Pickett, it has done exactly that.

This is not a headline-grabbing transfer but more of an astute bit of business to help consolidate as the postseason looms. Pickett is a consistent and reliable full-back – named to the NWSL Best XI in 2021 and 2022 - who sits nicely on this roster alongside some promising up-and-comers, those who she can help with her experience as the Pride looks set to head to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

If this ranking was done on the sheer excitement around a signing, Aline Gomes would top the list. The Brazilian is one of the most promising teenagers on the planet and looks sure to be an absolute star in years to come if she can make good on her potential. However, some sensible caution around the latter point just moves her a little further down, plus the fact that Nahas may opt to ease her into life in North Carolina.

That’s not to say Aline is not capable of coming in and making an immediate impact. This is a player who has already been capped at senior level and has proven herself a gamechanger in attack with former club Ferroviaria and the youth national teams. The 19-year-old is a thrilling talent and if she can continue to make exciting progress during her time with the Courage, then the club will be in good hands for many seasons to come.

If Gotham didn’t already have the second-best defense in the NWSL in 2024, Jess Carter would rank as an even better signing. That said, the England international still brings plenty to the table for the reigning champion as it looks to retain that title in the next few months.

As well as being a top quality defender, Carter is versatile, able to play anywhere across the back line, and has a ton of experience, having helped the Lionesses win the 2022 European Championships and reach the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. As Gotham prepares to balance the group stage of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup with the NWSL’s final months, the 27-year-old will also add necessary depth and, with her ability to play different roles, some flexibility at the back that will certainly come in handy.

To improve its chances of sneaking into the playoffs this season, Angel City needed to bolster its midfield in this summer window and it has done exactly that by bringing England international Katie Zelem to the club. She will add real experience and leadership to the middle of the park, as well as the star quality that made her captain of Manchester United and has helped her win 12 caps for the Lionesses.

Zelem has something to prove, too, having not been called up for her country since December. It feels like a new environment, a fresh challenge and a league that asks her to improve in different areas could help bring the best out of her - which will only benefit the club from Los Angeles.

With 23 goals scored and 22 goals conceded, Chicago has been plodding along nicely to sit comfortably inside the playoffs through 16 games, albeit without asserting itself too strongly on the NWSL. For the final 10 rounds of the regular season, though, it has made two superb signings to help push the team to the next level just when it matters, starting with Ludmila.

The Brazil forward immediately improves an attack that ranks ninth for creativity and 10th for expected goals, adding a huge threat to sit on the opposite wing to USWNT star Mallory Swanson. Ludmila's experience and genuine star quality will be a huge asset as the Red Stars look to qualify for the postseason.

While Japan striker Tanaka will give Utah a focal point in attack, Canada winger Cloe Lacasse can bring a little more of the buzz around her to really give defenders something to think about and help the Royals improve an abysmal average of one goal scored every other game.

It might be too late for the expansion side to really make anything of this season, sitting nine points off the playoffs with 10 games to go, but it can at least start laying the groundwork for next year. An attack featuring the likes of Lacasse, Tanaka and Sentnor should certainly cause teams problems and it will hope to start building some chemistry and understanding in the latter stages of this season.

Only two teams have scored fewer goals than the San Diego Wave in 2024 and the club has acted to try and change those fortunes by recruiting the 2022-23 Feminine Division 1 Player of the Year, Delphine Cascarino.

An ACL injury limited the flying winger to just seven league appearances for Lyon, the eight-time European champion, this past season but she remains a player to be feared by any defender, as shown by the fact that top clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were chasing her signature before the Wave won the race for it.

Cascarino will certainly make San Diego a better team going forward, there is no doubt about that, however there is concern over whether her creativity will be maximized. That’s because this team has massively underperformed on its expected goals this year, more so than any other side in the NWSL, with 12 scored despite 20 expected. That will need to improve drastically.

Julia Grosso’s move to the Chicago Red Stars is a transfer that just makes perfect sense. The Canada international is a remarkably consistent midfielder, one who battles brilliantly in the middle of the park and has a goal in her, too, netting six in her final season with Juventus.

As well as bringing those qualities to Chicago, she’ll also add experience of the very top level and of winning titles. Despite still being just 23 years old, Grosso has an Olympic gold medal and five trophies with Juventus to her name, credentials that the Red Stars just do not have in the middle of the park at the moment.

Her age only adds to how impressive this signing is, too. Grosso has already racked up plenty of individual accolades and honors in her career, but she can still get so much better and Chicago will hope to see the midfielder hit new levels in its colors over the next few years.