6 best nwsl summer arrivals (so far)

One of my favorite things about the NWSL is the summer transfer window. While most teams around the world use the summer window to load up for the start of the season, NWSL teams have a chance to fill some holes that appeared in the first half of the season, and load up for a charge to—sometimes even through—the playoffs.

The window is still open until August 25th, but NWSL teams have been busy ahead of the restart of the season. Here are the five players I think could have the biggest impacts for their new clubs.

6) onyeka gamero, bay fc

Bay FC have a champagne problem that’s turned into a Pabst Blue Ribbon problem. They have one of the most expensive attacks in the league, but only Racheal Kundananji had been consistent—well, until this year. Not entirely her fault, teams know that if they focus on her there’s a good chance they can stall Bay’s attack. Penelope Hocking showed some danger leading up to the break, but there’s still a surprising lack of coordination in the attack.

Now, I don’t fully expect Gamero to solve this, especially since she’s still recovering from an ACL injury. But she is close to being back on the pitch and should make her debut this season. When she does, she’ll give Bay a get-in-behind profile from the right side. She’s pretty heavily right foot dominant when it comes to dribbling, but she has the control to make it work, and can shoot with either foot. Adding moves to her left are something Bay can help develop, but she’s good enough to make an impact as soon as she’s healthy.

Please enjoy this 18-minute highlight video with questionable music selections and graphic editing. Thank you to whomstever took the time to put this together.

5) laurina fazer, san diego wavé

The Wavé have been the surprise of the season and the secret sauce seems to be letting their forwards cook. Delphine Cascarino is leading the league in assists and snatched ankles, and they have four forwards with at least three goals so far. But when San Diego has struggled, it’s because teams have found ways to slow them down. Fazer could help with that straightaway.

Fazer is somehow still just 21-years-old, despite it feeling like she’s been around for half a decade. And well that’s because she pretty much has. She made her professional debut for PSG in 2020. However, Fazer’s minutes and starts have dwindled since the 22/23 season. Given the hot ass mess that is PSG, it’s hard to tell whether that has more to do with her or the hot ass mess that is PSG.

She’s capable of filling in at either central or defensive midfield, but is more of a short passing facilitator than an incisive passer, which is fine and exactly what San Diego need when teams force them to downshift. If she can, this will be a smart signing for the short- and long

4) sofia cantore, washington spirit

Two things were very true about watching Italy’s run in the EUROS. First, they’re a fun team that did a great job of assembling established and newer talents. And two, whatever the Washington Spirit paid to get Cantore to the NWSL was probably not enough. Oh well, no takesies backsies.

Cantore grew in each game of the tournament and played an assortment of roles in the attacking line. Sometimes she was the wide ball-to-feet winger, other times she was showcasing her strength to keep possession in central areas. On counters she also showed enough speed to get behind and scare a defense. I particularly loved her two assists to Cristina Girelli to get Italy by Unserious Norway in the quarterfinals.

The difference in the assists should make Spirit fans very happy. For her first (4:59), she receives the ball to her feet on the right in an inside forward position with her first touch coming inside the box. After a slight hesitation to get her defender set, she sifts the ball to her right and fizzes it across goal, where Girelli got the touch to steer it in. On the second (9:18), she’s in classic wide winger territory on the left. She again slows to read her defender, but this time slips into space created by a teammate’s diagonal run to hit a beautiful deep cross to the far post, giving Girelli a free header.

My main questions for any European player coming to the NWSL, especially if they’ll be tasked with playing in wide areas, is whether they have the requisite athleticism to be effective week in and week out. I became ultra convinced about Cantore in the NWSL while watching the EUROS. I kept doing the ‘Leo DiCaprio pointing meme’ at the screen each time she showcased her strength, ball control and speed an attribute that would translate well.

Given that Italy made a run all the way to extra time in a semifinal, my arm is tired.

3) mia fishel, seattle reign

It me, a Chelsea fan, so I must start this with establishing my sadness about it being extremely poor luck for Fishel to land in London and tear her ACL literally one month after Sam Kerr. The timeline where Fishel slots in and leads Chelsea to their titles exists somewhere, and I don’t care which Titan I have to hunt and kill, I will find a way to watch it.

Anywhomst. This is a major move for Seattle. We don’t know official numbers, but I keep hearing ‘record salary’, which is a lot of faith being placed in Fishel to be exactly what Seattle need. On the surface the need, and her fit, are the simplest puzzle pieces known to humankind. It all still hinges on her readiness post-ACL injury. Sometimes players come back like nothing happened, other times it’s a years-long process. I am certainly hoping for the former.

As for what Fishel can do for Seattle, well, the thing they’ve been missing. Lynn Biyendolo can play the 9, but then you miss her winger/inside forward skills and ability to get into gaps between the fullbacks. Fishel gets Lynn back in those spaces, and gives all of Seattle’s freshly assembled zoomy players a central figure to linkup with. Linkup play and arrival into the box for headers or first time finishes are Fishel’s jam, and what Seattle need.

I know using ‘if’ regarding an ACL injury is expecting it to do some Magnus ver Magnusson-ass lifting, but Fishel is on a standard recovery timeline and the break was likely perfectly timed to get her back to match fitness. She’s already starred in some summer break exhibition matches for Seattle, so I’d expect her in the starting XI as early as this weekend.

2) ally sentnor, kc current

This move dropped like two hours after I published what was then a top-5 list. Lol. Lmao. Anyway, thank Beyoncé that the internet exists. I thought I was safe by waiting until hours before the league officially returned, but I forgot one very crucial thing: this is the NWSL, and you cannot escape its chaos.

Alright onto the move. Erm, I love this. I know several people won’t, and most of them will be nerds, and that’s fine. I completely understand the argument that the current version of Ally Sentnor is a hyper-skilled player who doesn’t yet know how to maximize her skills, or even worse, frequently makes bad or wrong decisions. I’m not here to argue against that, we’ve all watched her with her head down trying to piledrive a shot into the far corner from thirty yards out—multiple times.

However, this is an uber talent that left college early to turn pro, and as such only turned 21 this past February. The one thing she very clearly seems to be missing is solid development. There’s a reason she looks much more composed with the national team than with the Utah Royals. Unfortunately, her club team has been a mess and instead of finding a way to develop her talent, they’ve singled her out as their most talented and most likely to break open a game and said ‘yeh just keep doing that’.

Kansas City, meanwhile, are a machine. Several players have gone there and seen their careers and skills enhanced. I’m thinking of Michelle Cooper, specifically, who went from a ‘if you can see the goal, shoot at it’ style striker at Duke, to a productive wide forward with pinpoint crossing ability.

This move also came just days after midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo announced her pregnancy. She was in exceptional form, and was dropping MVP-level performances in multiple games in the first half of the season. Her passing was key to ensuring Kansas City’s attack could remain relentless whether in transition or through buildup play. While Sentnor is absolutely not a like-for-like replacement for DiBernardo, Kansas City appear to have opted to press the ‘DESTROY’ button in choosing to sign Sentnor.

I am extremely eager to see what she can become with consistent coaching in a well-defined system, and surrounded by a ridiculous amount of talent. Her first time ignoring Temwa Chawinga to wallop the ball at goal from thirty yards will likely result in some tough lessons on and off the pitch, but it’s been a long time coming. I back her to grow from there.

1) sveindís jane jónsdóttir, angel city

Is this move #1 because it’s something I’ve been spent years pleading for? Maybe. Quite possibly. It’s hard to say. But probably. Anyway, the reason I’ve long considered it a perfect fit is because the only thing stopping Sveindís from being widely recognized as one of the best wingers in the world is sharpened finishing and enhanced xDawg. The NWSL can give her both.

And then of course the team she goes to is Angel City, which makes this extra perfect. One, she’s fit right in immediately and has been in approximately 700 TikToks since landing in Los Angeles. Also, Angel City are getting an Espresso-like season from Alyssa Thompson and seven goals from former rookie trialist Riley Tiernan, but are still just 11th.

The main reason is because they’re allowing the third-most non-penalty xG per 90. A winger won’t fix that, but Sveindís has the speed and ability to help out defensively and be a problem in the final third—like all quality NWSL wingers. Someone needs to help balance their attack, which might also limit the risks their fullbacks often take to provide service near or even inside the box.

Ultimately though, the 24-year-old Jónsdóttir is on the cusp of her prime and only needs to refine bits of her game to get there. She has a coach who should know her strengths and weaknesses well in former Bayern Munich head coach Alexander Straus, and is on a team that can slot her in opposite of another superstar talent. Angel City have a lot to fix and a lot of work to do to climb the table, but Sveindís finally being in the NWSL is a delight, and should be pure uncut fun.