The Women’s Super League (WSL) returned from the winter break this weekend and several new arrivals in the January transfer window made their debuts.
Chelsea extended their dominance at the top of the table while Manchester City fell to fourth after a derby disaster. Arsenal and Manchester United are now locked in a duel in the race for second place as the relegation battle reaches its climax.
Five new Everton recruits made their debut in blue, with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool welcoming new faces to their ranks.
Hayley Ladd moved to Merseyside from Manchester United and has quickly made his debut for the Toffees since signing two weeks ago. The Welsh midfielder started for Brian Sorensen’s side and put in a strong performance against Aston Villa at Walton Hall Park.
A late equalizer from Veatriki Sarri in the 89th minute was enough to salvage a point for Everton, keeping them five points above the relegation zone. The equalizer came nine minutes after Ladd withdrew.
Minutes are exactly what Ladd needs ahead of Euro 2025 with Wales in the summer. Having logged just eight WSL minutes in the first half of the season at United, the grass is already proving to be greener.
Replacing Ladd in the 80th minute, Louna Ribadeira’s brief 10-minute appearance at Walton Hall Park marked a positive start to her Toffees career. It was Ribadeira’s efforts in the penalty area that finally gave Sarri the opportunity to score the equalizer.
The striker was recently recalled from her loan spell at Paris FC by her parent club Chelsea, before taking up work on Merseyside instead. The 20-year-old showed off her fierceness in her short debut, signaling that there’s much more to come for the young starlet.
On loan from Barcelona, Martina Fernandez didn’t have to wait for her first appearance on Merseyside. The 20-year-old defender was tested against the impressive Rachel Daly and struggled to gain the upper hand in the game when the England striker opened the scoring in the 31st minute.
Despite conceding a goal early on, Fernandez quickly recovered and gave the home fans an impressive WSL debut.
Another of the Toffees’ new signings made their WSL debut when Kelly Gago came on as a 54th-minute substitute against Villa to replace Toni Payne.
The French striker arrived after joining from FC Nantes, where she spent a single season before moving to the English top flight.
Sorensen was keen to strengthen in the attacking areas after both Aurora Galli and Inma Gabarro suffered devastating ACL tears earlier in the season. Gago seems to fit in well with the weakened team and although she failed to get on the scoresheet against Villa, she is just getting started.
Rounding out the quintet of Everton debutants was Emma Watson, who has been loaned from Manchester United for the remainder of the 2024/25 season. The midfielder got her chance in the 54th minute, replacing Katja Snoejis in the center of the park.
Watson, 18, was Sorensen’s third signing of the transfer window and she will be hoping to rack up significant minutes before her return to Carrington in the summer.
As far as a high-profile debut goes, facing your old club just a week after you left is certainly a chance to make it for the first time. Lize Kop did just that, starting between the sticks for Tottenham Hotspur against her former employers Leicester City.
The Dutch goalkeeper left the Foxes after struggling to grab the number one jersey. Kop put in a solid performance at Brisbane Road Stadium, while her former teammate Janina Leitzig scored the own goal that gave Spurs victory at home.
The reliable goalkeeper will be an integral part of Robert Vilahamn’s Tottenham side as they look to improve on a positive 2023/24 season.
It was a debut that Rebecca Knaak will happily forget as Man United claimed victory over the woeful Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium on derby day. Defensive mistakes were the biggest concern for Gareth Taylor’s team, and Knaak certainly wasn’t immune to the odd mistake.
Despite being 3-0 down in the early stages, City managed to score two goals before half-time. Knaak scored her first goal in sky blue and headed in City’s second of the night.
Hoping to replace captain Alex Greenwood during their injury absence, City secured the signing of Knaak from Swedish side FC Rosengard on the first day of the transfer window. The goal-scoring defender lived up to her name on her debut for the team, but defensively she left a lot to be desired.
Sam Kerr made her Liverpool debut on Friday evening, starting her first game in Matt Beard’s side. The Reds emerged victorious on this occasion, claiming a 2-1 win over Brighton on home soil.
The midfielder will spend the rest of the season on Merseyside after joining on loan from Women’s Bundesliga side Bayern Munich. The Scotland international has struggled to break into Alexander Straus’ starting XI and will hope her time in the WSL puts her on the right path in her development.
Liverpool will certainly benefit from Kerr’s arrival, with the 25-year-old bringing real control and composure to the center of the park.