I still want us to sign Jade Bailey.
Lucy has an EU passport (Portugal), so they've registered her that way instead.Another one for the "oh no" speculation list - Ona Batlle wasn't around for our friendly against Everton on Sunday. United described her as "unavailable" but didn't explain more. Earlier in the window it's looked like Barcelona were after her, but we'd basically rejected their offers.
Since then Barca have had a few injuries and now they've got a problem that means they can't register all their non-EU players. Not the financial one that hit the men's team - they want to register four non-EU players, including Lucy Bronze, but currently are only allowed to register two.
I don't know where that leaves them in terms of starting lineup and squad players, but the price they're willing to pay to get Ona (who would be a free agent next year) may have gone up.
Fingers crossed on Ona then. Both that all is well for her and her family and also that we aren't looking at a late transfer deal for her.
Yep, I saw her on TV talking about that. Another reminder that Twitter rumours (and some Spanish media outlets!) don't fact-check their stories.Lucy has an EU passport (Portugal), so they've registered her that way instead.
Yeah but that task will be harder still with Groenen gone. Can't believe we've let her go for 150k. I know that's probably a lot of money in women's football but surely we don't need it? Much more important to establish ourselves as a top club.Important player gone after the window closes. Not good.
We need to qualify for UCL
Yeah but that task will be harder still with Groenen gone. Can't believe we've let her go for 150k. I know that's probably a lot of money in women's football but surely we don't need it? Much more important to establish ourselves as a top club.
Shame to let her go, but I can understand it if she's been offered a better contract and CL football. From what I've seen, the reaction to her departure has been overly dramatic though (mostly Twitter, which of course is known for being the home of calm and level-headed takes). She isn't the first to leave us for a better team, and won't be the last. I think some United fans need to remember this women's team has never been one of the top teams, and some players might choose to make a step up in their career rather than stay and wait for us to establish ourselves, not knowing how long it'll take us to even qualify for the CL, let alone win a cup or a WSL title.
To be honest though, while she was our best midfielder on paper, I don't think she showed her quality consistently enough at United. It's not just a Skinner problem either. She played a lot under Stoney as well but I don't remember her setting the world on fire then - maybe I'm wrong. I was at the Euros game between Holland and Sweden and I think she played as well in that game as she did in any game for United. It's a shame we didn't get to see that version of Jackie consistently becuase she's obviously massively talented.
Hopefully the move is a good one for her. As for us, I don't think our priorities change. In my opinion our squad is still stronger overall, we have good options in midfield (Hopefully VBR can step up this season with Jackie gone) and City are possibly weaker than last season so 3rd place is still achievable.
Not sure how to react to this one. She's certainly no goalscorer and whether she really has something new/better to add in midfield I don't know.
A reinforcement certainly, which is a a good thing. If she's intended as an upgrade/replacement for Vilde Boe Risa or one of the forwards I'm not convinced.
Raging at Skinner?
I am not in the know, but with United doing so well and her success with England, I doubt she will be going anywhere. It is a World Cup year, she is settled, and she is inseparable from Toone. She will signWhoever's in the know, is it looking promising that Alessia will extend?
I do think his track record on bringing in new players is unimpressive. Rachel Williams, Lucy Staniforth and Jade Moore haven't done much. Tounkara has barely been seen. Grace Clinton looked so promising before she came to us, but hasn't been seen since.
The jury is still out on Nikita Parris. As good as she used to be and as good as she sometimes looks now, it's not obvious why she seems to be an automatic starter and Adriana Leon for example (who's been on good form with Canada) doesn't even get a few minutes as a sub. Rotation and squad minutes just don't seem to be Skinner things.
The only real hit has been Maya le Tissier - we knew she was good and she's showing it.
I know we're constrained by money, but Parris for example won't have been cheap. Certainly, I can't believe that Rachel Daly is costing Villa more. So, hmmm - yeah, I won't be surprised if some of the barely used squad move out in January.
I guess the question is who are we replacing them with?
Looks like United may be signing Lisa Naalsund, a Norwegian midfielder. It seems like the fee might be the highest United have paid so presumably she would be coming to play a serious role, not just to add depth if Staniforth and Moore (both of whom seldom play anyway) leave.
Looks like Lucy Staniforth is leaving. It's thought that she's off to join to join Aston Villa - on a permanent deal, not a loan.
She didn't travel to Malta for the training camp this week. The reports say that's because she had United's permission to stay behind to finalise her move.
Looks like we could be signing Jayde Riviere in the next few days. From what I've seen (after spending 5 minutes on Twitter) she's a 21 year old full back who was part of the gold medal winning Canadian Olympic team in 2021. She's also recovering from a long term injury so probably wouldn't have an immediate impact. Still, it seems like the right profile of player we should be targeting, especially as we have so few options at full back and there's no guarantee on Batlle staying beyond this season.
She's incredibly talented. Manchester United is a solid next step for her to take. As a United fan, I hope that she can stick around for a long while, but don't be surprised if she heads over to either the NWSL or the new Canadian women's league eventually.
As good as the European teams are getting, the NWSL is still one tier above them. The gap will reduce over time, but I don't think Europe will ever equal NWSL unless the European teams start investing way more into the women's sport.For those with more knowledge than me, how big is the gap between Europe (specifically the WSL) compared to the NWSL? In terms of league quality but also in terms of wages etc? Is that gap being closed or is womens football growing at a similar pace over there still?
just hopeful thinking if she is that talented that by the time she’s ready for another step that she doesn’t actually need to move as Europe and United have reached that level themselves.
As good as the European teams are getting, the NWSL is still one tier above them. The gap will reduce over time, but I don't think Europe will ever equal NWSL unless the European teams start investing way more into the women's sport.
Regardless, top-tier Canadian women like Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, and Ashley Lawrence have spent their whole career in Europe, whilst very promising young Canadians like Julia Grosso and Clarissa Larisey are kicking off their pro careers in Europe. There's a decent chance that Jayde Riviere can spend her whole career at United, but that's only if she's paid well enough and remains settled in the north of England, and United remain one of the top teams in England.
She's an RB or an RWB.Could she get trouble with work permit if she’s been out injured for a while? And which side does she play, left or right back?
She's an RB or an RWB.
Cover for now, we only have 2 full backs and we always look way worse when we have to play someone out of position there (it could be that Batlle moves to left back too), but obviously it's a good replacement in case Batlle leaves in the summer which I would guess is likely right now.Backup for Ona Batlle, or a sign that the latter is leaving in summer?
She was one of the first names in the team sheet for Canada before she got injured, and she was a key player all the way through our Olympic gold medal success in Tokyo. If she's coming in, I'd be surprised if she's not a starter; she can easily start for us and become one of our better players.Backup for Ona Batlle, or a sign that the latter is leaving in summer?