Alexia Putellas, Georgia Stanway and 10 new signings who will define the 2026-27 Women's Super League season

Crystal Palace scored at a healthy rate in the WSL 2 last year, ranking joint-third in the league, but lessons have clearly been learned from the last time they were promoted to the top-flight. In the 2023-24 season, the Eagles were rampant as they won the second-tier title, scoring at least 16 goals more than anyone else in the league, but then netted just 20 in 22 WSL games the following year as they were condemned to relegation.

To add a player like Beth England, then, is very smart. The 32-year-old has tons of experience, with 11 goals in her 26 caps for the Lionesses and 71 goals in 152 games for Chelsea during a seven-year spell that returned 10 trophies. But it's what England did at Tottenham, the club she joins Palace from, that makes this transfer so promising. How she adapted to playing for a struggling side, after representing the dominant force in England, was so impressive, with her 12 goals in 12 WSL appearances after the move to Spurs in January 2023 firing the club to safety.

"You do have to adapt, you do have to appreciate there's times where you're going to suffer a lot more without the ball in games and you do have to work on yourself individually," she told GOAL last season. "When I was at Chelsea, you could potentially get five to 10 opportunities a game and you know one of them will go in. At Spurs, you might get one chance, and if you don't take it, that's all you've got. I feel like since I've come here, I've been able to make more chances count with less opportunities. It's just growing as an individual and knowing that without the ball, you have to do the dirty work."

The ability to do all of that, plus England's qualities as a leader and a player with so much experience, can give Palace's chances of staying up a serious, serious boost.

It's hard to pick out just one of Arsenal's signings to talk about because the Gunners have made so many good ones this summer. Stanway, though, might end up being the most important and influential in the club's upcoming season and, as such, the new WSL campaign.

Arsenal have been too reliant on both Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey in midfield in recent times. As such, additional depth felt like a top priority this summer, and the Gunners have brought in exactly that, with Geraldine Reuteler, the versatile Switzerland international, also signed.

Stanway is one of the best midfielders in the world, someone who can not only bring depth to the position but also elite quality, experience of the biggest moments and an ability to play various roles. With the England international in the squad, that reliance on Little and Caldentey is lightened, something that should allow Arsenal to keep them fresher throughout the campaign and, in general, be better equipped to fight for a first WSL title since 2019.

Mao Itamura's move to Liverpool might be one of the most exciting signings of the summer. The 20-year-old was named Player of the Year in the Eredivisie last season, after producing eight goals and six assists to fire Feyenoord to a third-placed finish, and now she is looking to bring all of those game-changing qualities to Merseyside.

The early signs are that she will. Itamura has caught the eye in pre-season, particularly with two goals of outstanding quality in the win over Sheffield United. Following Olivia Smith's record-breaking move to Arsenal, Liverpool lacked a game-changing talisman last season in a campaign that started so poorly that the Reds remained winless in the WSL until late January.

Itamura plays a different position to Smith but, once she returns from an injury that has ruled her out of September's Under-20 World Cup, she has the magical touch to help reinvigorate a side that, in general, looks to have had a strong transfer window, one that should move them up the standings significantly.

After finishing a disappointing eighth last season, Everton's summer transfer window has had a theme: Attack, attack, attack. Some of that has been necessary, with the likes of Katja Snoeijs, Toni Payne and Kelly Gago leaving, but those three only registered nine combined goal contributions last season too, so a forced revamp may not be a bad thing.

Young playmaker Zara Kramzar makes her loan from Roma permanent, the lively Noemie Mouchon arrives from Leicester and Jutta Rantala also brings her direct play to Merseyside from the Foxes. It is Holly McNamara, though, who stands out among the signings.

Winner of the last two Golden Boots in Australia's A-League, and scorer of a club-record 45 goals in 66 appearances for Melbourne City, McNamara is one of the most exciting young forwards in the women's game.

Speaking to some of her fellow Aussies across the league, the excitement about her potential is palpable. Mary Fowler, one of the Matildas' key players and a star name at Manchester City, backed McNamara to "do great" on Merseyside while Charlie Rule, her close friend at Brighton, told GOAL that the 23-year-old "deserves to be playing here" in the WSL. "I've always known she could play for a top team," she said.

Ornella Vignola, Honoka Hayashi and the now-departed Gago were Everton's joint-top-scorers in the WSL last season, with four goals apiece. If McNamara can establish herself as the focal point of the Toffees' attack and be a reliable goal-scorer, she can make a serious difference.

Has there ever been a bigger signing in the WSL than Putellas' move to London City? She arrives off the back of a season that propelled Barcelona to the quadruple, landed her the Champions League Player of the Season accolade and is likely to return a third Ballon d'Or later this year. Her arrival in the WSL is fascinating in isolation then, as one of the best players in the world adapts to a new league and style.

Making it all the more interesting, though, is that she has signed for London City, a remarkably ambitious club backed by the billions of Michele Kang who finished sixth in their first season in the WSL last term. An injection of cash is behind the Lionesses' aims to propel themselves up the table quickly, bringing the likes of Putellas here, as well as four-time Champions League winner Leon and former Lyon star Kadidiatou Diani.

Putellas is the crown jewel, though, because of her otherworldly talent, yes, but also her leadership qualities. Captain at Barcelona, she leads by example and is particularly excellent with the young players, something team-mate Alanna Kennedy told GOAL early in pre-season had already stood out. "She wants to help," Kennedy explained.

Can her arrival, combined with many others, make London City a serious force in the WSL? Or is it too much like fantasy football to work? If it is to be a good season for the club from the capital, Putellas will be central to it.

After ending their 10-year wait for another WSL title, Manchester City's transfer window has not been flashy - just as the club promised. An overhaul was never on the cards, not with so many good pieces already in place, with some complementary additions simply needed to ensure this team improves a little and can deal with a return to the Champions League, while still being a force domestically.

Beth Mead might be the more headline-grabbing of their additions, but it is actually Niamh Charles' arrival that feels more important. That's because left-back was a position that seriously needed addressing in the window and, by signing Charles early, City did exactly that.

When Andree Jeglertz's side were exposed at times last season, it was often in the full-back areas and often down the left, where Leila Ouahabi fell out of favour and Alex Greenwood moved across from centre-back to cover instead. Charles, a 34-time England international who has won five WSL titles, can now plug that gap as City look to build on last season.

"She's a great personality and she has quality as a left-back that is good both in the defending and the attacking part," Jeglertz told GOAL this summer, while also noting the experience Charles will bring to the group from her time at Chelsea, during their run of six successive WSL titles. "That is something that we are going to be able to use also in sessions and in how you win from one year to the next."

In Europe right now, Manaka Matsukubo might not be a particularly familiar name. In the U.S, though, the 22-year-old has spent the last three years marking herself out as one of the best players in the NWSL, the WSL's biggest rival for the title of the best women's league in the world.

Last season, a return of 11 goals and four assists in 26 games earned Matsukubo the NWSL's Midfielder of the Year award, and Team of the Year honours, all while making her impossible for Chelsea to ignore. In July, she joined the Blues on a five-year contract.

Versatile enough to play a variety of positions in the forward areas, it's as a No.10 that the Japan international really excels, a position that no one has really nailed down in this Chelsea team. It feels like one that Matsukubo can really make her own, to enhance the potency of an attack that misfired plenty last term, in the Blues' lowest-scoring WSL season for seven years.

"Before, I didn't know much about her to be honest, but from the first session, I saw her technical qualities and the skills that she has. She's really, really good," Chelsea defender Nathalie Bjorn told GOAL this summer, raving about her new team-mate. "She is so fast with her feet and you think you have the ball, but you don't. I'm very interested to see how she can be in our team this season because we need that creative player in the final third."

If Chelsea want to return to the heights that saw them win six successive WSL titles, improvements in attack are needed. Matsukubo can certainly help with that.

Though Earps may not be at the same level at this moment in her career as some of London City's other summer signings, with the likes of Putellas, Leon and Diani all world-class players, her arrival could end up being one of the biggest for the club.

That's true in a marketing sense, with Earps still probably the biggest name to the audience in England to have joined this summer, something that could help boost the attendances and following of an independent club with low crowds, but also in a footballing sense.

Per expected goals against statistics, no goalkeeper ranked below London City's Elene Lete when it came to goals prevented in the 2025-26 season. She conceded 6.8 more than she should have, according to Opta, and had the second-worst save percentage in the division. As such, London City conceded 35 goals in 22 games, some 13 more than any of the league's 'big four', whom they are trying to chase down.

Improving in defence is as vital as strengthening in attack, then, and bringing in someone with Earps' quality and experience should help raise the bar in between the sticks, while also maybe aiding the long-term development of Lete, who is still only 24 years old and signed a new contract just this summer. If the former England No.1 can be anywhere close to the level she was at last time she was in the WSL, it'll improve London City.

Former Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic made no secret of how important he believed Fran Kirby, the England and Chelsea icon, was to his project on the south coast, regularly picking out her experience of winning at the highest level as something that can drive standards and propel the Seagulls towards something special. It had a big impact last season especially, as Brighton made the FA Cup final for the first time.

This summer, before his surprise departure in August, Vidosic went out and got a player of a similar ilk, in Lia Walti. She doesn't have a CV quite as glittering as Kirby's, which features 16 trophies from her Chelsea days and a European Championship title, but Walti has played for top teams in four different countries, was part of the Arsenal team that won the WSL in 2019 and the Champions League in 2025 and has worn the captain's armband for Switzerland, including at a home Euros last summer. She's also a top, top midfielder who can control games excellently.

"Immediately you can see the type of person she is," Vidosic told GOAL this summer. "When you watch the games, you see the footballer that she is and the quality that she possesses, and you just need to have one quick read of her CV to understand that, but she's also a terrific person and the players are already right around her. You can see that she will have that leadership. She'll be a player that girls will look to and she's a very welcome addition to our squad who will play a big, big part."

Brighton had a great 2025-26 season, reaching that FA Cup final and finishing a solid seventh in the WSL, taking points off Manchester United, Arsenal and beating Manchester City in the final weeks of the campaign. Walti is the sort of person and player that can really help the Seagulls as they look to build on such a brilliant year and keep moving forward under new coach Arturo Ruiz.

Tottenham are another side whose transfer window has caught the eye, with a lot of good business done early on to ensure the group for 2026-27 has time to gel and get to grips with the demands of highly-rated head coach Martin Ho. It's Alice Sombath, one of their later signings, though, who is of particular intrigue, not least because Spurs paid a club-record fee to bring the defender to north London.

The 22-year-old spent time in the youth set-ups of Paris FC and Paris Saint-Germain before joining Lyon, where she would progress into the first-team when she was still only 17. In the end, Sombath racked up over 100 appearances for the eight-time European champions, showcasing her technical excellence and deceptive athleticism whenever she was given the chance, even if opportunities could be hard to come by at times in a squad as stacked as Lyon's, especially given she was competing with players like Wendie Renard, the France icon, for game time.

Sombath learned plenty in that environment though, things she can now share with those at Tottenham. "I was talking with her at dinner the other day and Renard was her biggest idol," Drew Spence, the Spurs midfielder, told GOAL in pre-season. "Just how she led the team, she learned from her and the experiences of playing alongside her. That in itself, for such a young player to have those experiences from those that have played at the highest level, is so important to add into this environment and push us to where we want to get to."

It's not just experience and technical quality that Sombath brings to this team, either. She adds necessary depth to a back line that struggled when key players were unavailable last season, shipping a disappointing 38 goals in 22 games, the fourth-most in the WSL. That will need to improve if Spurs want to kick on.