Sam Coffey, Lea Schuller and the top 10 WSL signings of the 2026 January transfer window

Few - if any - clubs in the WSL needed to act more urgently in the January transfer window than Liverpool, who are rooted to the bottom of the table after a disappointing start to the 2025-26 campaign. While West Ham, sitting just one place above them, decided to change the manager over the winter break, the Reds have kept faith in Gareth Taylor and chosen to back him instead, making six signings this past month.

One of the best has seen Jennifer Falk, the Sweden international goalkeeper, arrive on loan from Hacken until the end of the season. After conceding 21 times in their first 11 league games of the season, Liverpool restarted after the winter break with three clean sheets in their first three games of 2026 as Falk's experienced, reliable and calm presence helped to shore up what had been a leaky back line.

West Ham were another team that needed to act in January and they did exactly that. After replacing previous head coach Rehanne Skinner with former Juventus boss Rita Guarino, the Hammers also made five new signings, with the arrival of Tuva Hansen the most interesting. The 28-year-old spent the previous three years at Bayern Munich, helping the club to win six major trophies.

Hansen had not been as in-favour in Germany as in previous seasons, leading to this transfer, but the experience and quality she brings to West Ham is priceless, especially for a team in their position. The defender, who can play any position in the back line, is a brilliantly reliable player who will add plenty to the Hammers' bid to stay up.

There's no doubt that Smilla Holmberg's switch to Arsenal was one of the most notable moves of this January transfer window. At the 2025 European Championship, the 19-year-old Sweden international showed just why she has been so highly-rated in her home country for a while now, even if her final action of that tournament was to miss a crucial penalty in the quarter-final defeat to England.

A dynamic and intelligent full-back, it was always a matter of when, rather than if, Holmberg would get her big move abroad. She is unlikely to make an immediate impact at Arsenal, as she will be mostly backing up a world-class right-back in Emily Fox to begin with, but the hope will be that she can develop well and hit new heights with the Gunners in due course.

That said, the north London side have been hit and miss with their signings of young players in recent years. Olivia Smith has started brightly after joining from Liverpool last summer, while Kyra Cooney-Cross is finally earning more starts this year, having arrived in 2023. Arsenal will hope Holmberg can follow a similar path to those two rather than ending up leaving the club after being unable to really break through, as was unfortunately the case with the likes of Kathrine Kuhl and Gio Queiroz.

That Oriane Jean-Francois struggled to get a consistent look-in during her 18 months at Chelsea is not so much a negative reflection on herself, but rather an indication of the top quality she was competing with in the Blues' midfield. A natural holding midfielder, the arrival of Keira Walsh in London in January of last year did little to help her chances of becoming a regular for the reigning WSL champions.

Aston Villa were smart, then, to sense an opportunity to sign the talented 24-year-old this past month. She didn't come cheap, with the club paying a fee that ranks among the top 15 in women's football history, but if Jean-Francois is given the game time she needs to get into a rhythm that is disruptive to opponents and an asset for her own side, she will absolutely be worth it.

While Falk's arrival has helped Liverpool's defence, arguably the Reds' best move of the winter has come in attack. After registering three goals and nine assists in 25 games as Hacken won the 2025 Damallsvenskan title, Alice Bergstrom has picked up where she left off and made a promising start to life on Merseyside after joining Liverpool on a permanent deal.

Taylor's side managed a paltry eight goals in their first 11 outings of the WSL season, making it little surprise that they were propping up the table. But the Reds have already looked a lot more promising in attack in 2026 and Bergstrom, the 22-year-old who has scored three goals in her first four games for the club, is a big reason why.

Though not as well-known as another Manchester United signing on this list, Ellen Wangerheim is certainly one who could become that household name in due course. The 21-year-old has been attracting interest from across Europe in recent months, with all of Chelsea, Manchester City and Wolfsburg linked with the Swede last summer. But it is United who secured her signature last month, for a club-record fee.

With 17 goals and seven assists in 25 Damallsvenskan games in 2025, the potential is there for all to see with this young forward. Translating that form into the WSL, perhaps the best league in women's football, won't be easy, but Wangerheim has already shown some exciting glimpses and strengthened a United squad that needed a boost going into the second half of what could be a memorable season.

Few transfers caught the eye this past month more than Delphine Cascarino joining London City Lionesses. The financial might of the newly-promoted WSL side is well-known and was best flexed in the summer when they signed Grace Geyoro, Cascarino's France international team-mate, for a world-record fee. Now, they've lured one of the best wingers in the game to their ambitious project.

London City didn't pay a fee for Cascarino as there was a clause in her San Diego Wave contract that allowed her to move to a European club in January by mutual consent, something which only serves to make it more impressive for the English club. They've landed an electric winger with game-changing qualities who, at 28 years old, is in the prime of her career. With six Champions League titles to her name, from her time with London City's sister club Lyon, Cascarino has tons of experience to bring to this young team, too. 

Eder Maestre, who replaced previous head coach Jocelyn Precheur over the winter break, now needs to integrate her qualities into a side that has endured much change over the course of the last few months.

For several years now, Signe Gaupset has been marking herself out as one of the most talented young players on the planet. Starring for Brann, not just in domestic competition but also in the Champions League, and then for Norway, and on big stages like at Euro 2025, the big question was where she might choose to take the next step of her career, when the time came.

To see Gaupset choose to move to Tottenham was exciting for her development. Rather than going to a powerhouse of the women's game where she might win trophies and play in big games, but receive fewer opportunities, the 20-year-old has linked up with Martin Ho, who was also previously her head coach at Brann, and signed for a team where she can play regularly, make mistakes and learn.

As well as being able to impact games immediately, the creative Norwegian has an incredibly bright future ahead of her. Spurs will hope they can be a part of that for as long as possible.

No club made a splash in the January transfer window quite like Manchester United, who had announced two signings and a new contract for the impressive Hinata Miyazawa before the New Year had even come along. Hanna Lundkvist provides important depth at right-back and Wangerheim's arrival has already been touched upon, but it is the arrival of Lea Schuller that really caught the eye.

Scorer of 103 goals in 180 games for Bayern Munich, plus another 54 in 82 appearances for Germany, the 28-year-old is one of the best strikers on the planet. United didn't particularly need to strengthen in that area, given they already have Elisabeth Terland and Melvine Malard on the books, but that they looked to do so anyway was a sign of intent.

Schuller will add elite goal-scoring instincts, a different dimension to the Red Devils' other centre-forward options and a ton of top-level experience, which will be vital as United prepare for their first Champions League knockout fixtures next month.

Manchester City only made one signing in the January transfer window, but what a signing it was. Sam Coffey is a world-class midfielder and she is set to spend the next three-and-a-half years in Manchester, after the Cityzens paid a club-record fee for her services.

It's true that, in Yui Hasegawa, City already have one of the best holding midfielders in the world on their books. However, the Japan international has quite notably played in more advanced areas of the pitch under Andree Jeglertz, who took over the team in the summer, with Laura Blindkilde Brown, the young England international, happy to pick the ball up off the centre-backs often enough alongside her.

By adding Coffey to the squad, City have another extremely high-quality option for that midfield duo that sits behind the free-roaming Vivianne Miedema in the middle of the park. It means that when Hasegawa likely heads to the Asian Cup next month, the negative impact on her club is likely reduced, but it also means that City have one of the world's best players for the foreseeable future.