We’re over a halfway through the 2024 NWSL season and the league is full of international stars showing out all across the league. From a big picture perspective, team construction is more meaningful than ever. Get it right and you can go from lol orlando pride to Orlando Thee Pride. Get it wrong and you can go from Perennial Playoff Contender Seattle Reign to i don’t know her.
Good news is that teams are getting better at recruitment, capable of challenging in the transfer market, and young international talent is seeing the NWSL as a viable option for their careers.
With the NWSL transfer window opening August 1st, I asked myself who is one signing each team could make that would address a problem area and make them dangerous in the second half of the season?
Angel City: Grace Geyoro, CM/CAM/CDM
Angel City simply cannot stop playing the same match. Head coach Becki Tweed hasn’t found a solution to linking her midfield and attack. That’s unsurprising, as she’s tried literally only a few things.
One thing she wouldn’t be able to ignore is the midfield chameleoning that Grace Geyoro would offer. As long as she’s in the midfield, she can do whatever job needs to be done. Geyoro once scored a first-half hat trick at the EUROs after typically playing deeper roles.
Since Tweed can’t find a solution, the solution could be to bring in a player who can do everything.
Bay FC: Teresa Abelleira, CDM
It wasn’t necessarily expected, but Abelleira was one of the best players at the 2023 World Cup. While Patri Guijarro continued to remove her name from consideration until Spain’s federation showed progress in their professionalism and treatment of players, it was up to Abelleira to fill the shoes of one of the most talented deep midfielders in the game.
She, uh, then did.
While Abelleira hasn’t replicated that form for club, a lot of that can be pinned on the wobbliness of Real Madrid and their manager, Alberto Toril, who just had his contract extended to 2026. While the club are in the process of rebuilding and have made some fun signings, Bay FC should try hard to offer her a well-monied escape should she want it.
The expansive style they’re attempting to play is suffering from a stable central midfield metronome. They hoped Alex Loera could be that, but prior to her ACL injury there was a lot to be desired. Kiki Pickett has done well, but is playing out of position. When Loera is back, she could drop into the backline as a versatile passing center back, a role she has excelled at in the past.
Chicago Red Stars: BUNNEH, ST
This is my most obvious one but it’s only because it just makes the most sense. Chicago’s new owners are already moving in the transfer window, securing Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso
Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson was the manager of Jamaica’s national team, the Reggae Girlz, and is very familiar with Shaw. He joined the team in speaking out against the federation for their disorganization and mistreatment. On the pitch, she’s a perfect fit.
Chicago opt to defend first, but because they’re typically pushed deep they’re consistently forced to hope they find the right weight and timing of pass to spring forward. With Shaw that equation would change. Her holdup play would allow teammates to steam forward, and more importantly, keeping the center backs busy would create lanes for Swanson, whose deliveries would allow Shaw to feast.
Houston Dash: Jelena Čanković, CM
I have no idea what the Houston Dash are doing, or are going to do. It seems they’re somewhat committed to the Fran Alonso experience, and if that remains true then they need to find the pieces to see if his scheme can even work in the NWSL.
Cankovic is a player who can help. She reportedly came close to signing with Angel City before Chelsea secured her services, but the club now has a new manager and has signed two young midfield talents, so she should be looking at her options.
Cankovic is a creative passing machine. She has outrageous vision and technique to pull off an array of passes, skills that took her directly from Spartak Subotica in Serbia to Barcelona. In order to defend deep and pick through defenses in transition the Dash need a creative central passer who can quickly read defenses and play dangerous passes into space. That’s sort of Cankovic’s whole deal.
KC Current: Jade Le Guilly, RB
I considered ignoring Kansas City and Orlando for this because they’re both steamrolling the rest of the league, but in the spirit of fairness and being extraordinarily nitpicky, that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. It does mean the margins are narrower, so this shouldn’t be taken as a slight.
One neat thing Kansas City has been able to do is get Izzy Rodriguez in the opposition half so she can spray passes to the forwards. They’re able to do this because Hailie Mace stays deeper on the right in a sort of hybrid fullback/right center back role. Le Guilly can do something similar, and at just 21-years-old, could also offer an opportunity for the team to switch flanks.
It’s not much, and nobody (except, curiously, the dash) have been able to cut off service to their attackers, but league tactics are fluid and the code can be cracked. Le Guilly would give them another option.
NJ/NY Gotham: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Erm, uh, I got nothin. Before they brought over Ann-Katrin Berger I would have suggested an upgrade there, but they nailed it. They currently have Katie Stengel playing wide which isn’t ideal, but that’s because Midge Purce is out with an ACL injury. Emily Sonnett is playing center back, which is her best position IMO, and it’s freeing Maitane López to play in midfield, and creating space for Nealy Martin to continue to grow.
Rose Lavelle is their 10, Ella Stevens is cooking as the 9, Mandy Freeman has been a revelation at RB and I wouldn’t suggest looking elsewhere just yet. Left back is set with Jenna Nighswonger, and Crystal Dunn and Yazmeen Ryan are elite attacking options.
Gotham’s primary need is probably just depth at this point, and that doesn’t really vibe with the tone of what I’m doing here so I got nothin.
NC Courage: Diana Ordóñez, ST
After an impressive rookies season Ordóñez was traded to Houston Dash. There were rumbles that she pushed for the move to be closer to family in Frisco, TX where she grew up. Since, however, her career has stalled and she hasn’t come close to the talent she proved herself to be her rookie season.
Since she’s left, and especially with the injury of Kerolin, goals have been hard to come by for North Carolina. The Courage put in the most crosses into the box by percentage in the NWSL but don’t have a consistent presence to turn those into goals. Not coincidentally, that led to Ordóñez having her breakout rookie season.
If she’s alright with the move, a return to the Courage could be what both need.
Orlando Pride: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, GK
Tullis-Joyce left then-OL Reign for a move to Manchester United. Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps had a lock on the starting spot, so she was very few minutes between the sticks. Earps is leaving now, but partly because Manchester United’s new ownership is being some hot trash toward their women’s team.
In Earps’ farewell statement she noted that the club was going in an opposite direction than she wanted with her career.
The allure of a starting spot at Manchester United might seem like an incredible opportunity, but the reality is more bleek than it is dreamworthy. Though Anna Moorhouse has earned a callup to the Lionesses, she has also been prone to errors and is a lesser shot stopper than Tullis-Joyce in her prime.
Portland Thorns: Eva Gaetino, CB
Portland have Soph Smith and Sam Coffey, which are two key players to have in the spine of a team. The problem they’ve run into is that there’s nothing similar in central defense. Becky Sauerbrunn is a legend but just turned 39, and Kelli Hubly and Isabella Obaze are solid center back partners.
Gaetino might have only gotten to PSG in January, but the NWSL could prove to be alluring and Portland has a need. She has presence, is tall, and has shown quality springing attacks from the backline. At just 21, Gaetino and Obaze could form a formidable central defensive pairing in Portland for several years to come.
Rahsing Louisville: Elisa De Almeida, CB
Louisville has been confusingly effective at luring international players to Kentucky and for their next trick they should get this very French center back to suit up in lavender.
Rahsing’s center backs are currently Abby Erceg and Arin Wright, with Ellie Jean filling in, and they’ve been solid but could use a different profile to help the team stay secure and push forward. In their league leading seven draws, only two have been scoreless. The rest has been the result of conceding eight goals in three games. Five were scored by Kansas City and Orlando, but the Pride didn’t have Barbra Banda at the time.
Turning even one of those draws into a win would have put Louisville in a playoff spot, and of course any other points would further solidify their position. A young, proven, strong center back would help give them additional solidity as they continue developing under Bev Yanez.
San Diego Wavé: Anna Gasper
San Diego are attempting a style change and evidently felt Casey Stoney was no longer the coach to get them there. It was sort of weird, because the primary issue seemed to be finishing chances, not creating them, which is typically more on the players than the coach.
Anyway, if the Wavé are to make the change they’re going to need a midfielder to fill the space between Emily van Egmond or Dani Colaprico and Jaedyn Shaw. The defensive solidity provided by either DM, plus Naomi Girma in the backline, is enough to have a more adventurous, high risk/high reward passer.
In the UWCL, Gasper was defensively resistant and accomplished at moving the ball forward into dangerous areas for Benfica’s wingers to cook. Whether finding the feet of María Sánchez or Jaedyn Shaw, Gasper would be a fun fit for a team trying to update its attacking style.
Seattle Reign: Lindsey Horan, CM
Ok hear me out…
One of the main reasons Horan stated that she left Portland was the facilities, and of course chance to play at Lyon. With Seattle Reign’s sale being finalized, news came that they’re permanently moving into the Starfire complex, one of the newest and nicest facilities in the NWSL.
Horan would also fit the slow build that Laura Harvey tends to prefer. With Fishlock, Van der Jagt and Quinn all playing deeper, Horan could have the freedom to roam forward that she seeks. Reign could also use another target to aim for in the central attacking areas, which Horan would also provide.
Not only do the Reign need what she offers on the pitch, but it would be another chapter in the best and longest standing rivalry in the NWSL.
Utah Royals: Katie Zelem, CDM
It’s hard to know where to start with Utah since their initial squad left a lot of holes to be filled. In attack Ally Sentnor has been amazing, but isolated. Moving her centrally has helped get her on the ball more, and she proved to be destructive on the ball in open space. Then, today, they signed Mina Tanaka.
The defense has solid, but young, pieces. The inclination was to look there, but I get the sense that they’re being betrayed by a leaky midfield. Despite Amandine Henry showing up, the rest of the midfielders are inexperienced in the NWSL and it’s been difficult for them to control games.
If Katie Zelem wants an escape from Manchester United, which is very likely, they could use the defensive solidity and midfield passing. They’ve given up the joint-most goals in the league (27), and stopping opponents from having so much joy against them is the first step in developing a team that can compete.
Washington Spirit: Manuela Giugliano, CM
Giugliano played as Roma’s 10 but her set piece delivery and penchant for line breaking passes makes her a perfect selection for the Spirit. The Spirit have become a successful counterattacking team, but in order to have the sort of possession they crave they’ll need to add a profile in between the ultra attacking creativity of Croix Bethune and the defensive safety of Andi Sullivan and Hal Hershfelt.
The Roma midfielder managed to post an absurdly high .46 pass OBV while maintaining a .06 in her defensive action OBV. This is the sort of profile the Spirit need to give them the fluid midfield to keep possession and spring attacks from midfield once gaps open up.
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