Seven Women’s Super League players to watch as the new season kicks off

The Women’s Super League season kicks off on Friday and after a busy summer transfer window there are a few new faces to get to know.

Then there’s the Arsenal signing inspired by Ronaldinho, a new Liverpool signing tipped for the big time and an Olympic star entering her first year as a professional footballer.

During the recent WSL media day, The Athletics We took the chance to meet a few of them and here are seven to look out for as the new season kicks off.

Rosa Kafaji, Arsenal

Kafaji is already a player who has impressed the English public. She impressed in the Champions League group stage against Chelsea for BK Hacken last season, while her cameo for Sweden against England in the Nations League in July proved the biggest threat to their clean sheet.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder was one of just three summer signings for Arsenal and has already attracted attention with her wide range of finishing and flair on the pitch. Expect to see plenty of WSL players see the ball go over their heads this season.

“Ronaldinho has been my inspiration since I was younger and that’s who I try to be like,” Kafaji said at the WSL media day. “I want to be creative, have fun on the pitch, try to score goals and create chances.”

“She’s a real baller,” Jonas Eidevall said. “The things she can do with a ball would probably break the leg of another player trying to do it. She can open up small spaces and she can throw balls in there with exact precision. We needed that.”

Kafaji impressed for Sweden against England (David Lidstrom/Getty Images)

New managers often bring former players with them, and Amandine Miquel is no exception.

Miquel has recruited two young Reims players to her Leicester team this year, with 21-year-old Mouchon set to make an immediate impact. The striker first broke into Reims’ senior team last season and her nine goals in 22 league games helped them to a fourth-place finish, their highest since returning to France’s top division.

“She is a ‘fake slow’,” said Miquel, who joined Leicester from Reims this summer after seven years as manager. “When she starts running, even if it’s not very fast, you feel like nobody can take the ball from her, so that’s good for us.”

Mouchon is adept at holding up the ball, but her ability to carry the ball and tackle players is what suits the transitional style that Miquel wants to introduce at Leicester. She had the second most successful take-ons for any under-21 player in the French top flight last year and bears a stylistic resemblance to Chelsea striker Mayra Ramirez.

Everton manager Brian Sorensen admitted at the WSL media day that the club had been forced to reduce their workforce and sell players to ensure “money was on the pitch”. Gabarro is one of six players Everton brought in this summer as part of that reshuffle, with Sorensen describing the 21-year-old as a direct replacement for Everton’s last wonderkid, Hanna Bennison, who was sold to Juventus in the summer.

“She’s technically very gifted,” Sorensen said. “She also moves extremely well. If you look at her (physical) numbers, they’re the best we have in our squad. She’s going to be the next big player, I’m sure, but there’s still a lot to learn because of her age.”

Gabarro scored goals for fun at youth level and won the Golden Boot at the 2022 Under-20 World Cup for champions Spain. She can play across the attacking line, but it is her late runs into the box, eluding defenders, that are most eye-catching.

She scored six goals (see her shot chart below) and had two assists last season, but her underlying numbers were promising too. Only two under-21 players in Liga F last season — Barcelona’s Esmee Brugts (12.3) and Salma Paralluelo (15.5) — posted higher expected goals plus expected assists (npxG + xA) ratios than Gabarro (11.8).

Olivia Smith, Liverpool

Some managers like to play down their expectations of new players, but Matt Beard is not one of them.

“Olivia Smith is probably going to be one of the best players in the world,” he said at WSL media day last week. “I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball like she does — her left leg, her right leg. You watch her in training and you think, ‘Did she just do that?'”

Smith was signed for a record €250,000 (£212,000) and after an excellent first season at Sporting Lisbon, in which she scored 16 goals in 28 games, she was snapped up by several clubs. Yet she had long looked set for superstardom.

In 2019, she became the youngest player ever to start for the Canadian national team when she came on as a substitute against Brazil at the age of 15 years and 94 days. Since then, her caps have been mixed — she has made 10 appearances in total — but she was the youngest member of the squad for the 2023 World Cup.

The power of her ball-striking is certainly striking and she is superbly composed in front of goal. Her career has been carefully planned, with the WSL the most competitive environment she has played in to date. But if it is anything like the rest of her experiences, she should flourish.

Awujo, 20, may be Canadian, but for Manchester United it feels like coming home.

“I’ve been a Man United fan since I was a little kid,” she told club media. “Growing up, watching the Premier League and football and going to England to see my family played a big part in my decision (to join).”

The central midfielder has been a bright spot during a gruelling Olympic tournament for Canada and United fans will be hoping she can breathe new life into a midfield that is currently in turmoil after captain Katie Zelem leaves for Angel City this summer.

Awujo is a good receiver with her back to goal, but can also turn well to create space in front of her. She seems physically ready for the WSL, although this is her first experience of professional football, having joined United from the American university system.

Awujo is also no slouch when it comes to running: when she was in high school, she helped set records in the 4x100m and 4x400m.

Morris is only 21 but has made over 100 senior appearances for Southampton. A product of the academy, the England full-back joined Tottenham on a three-year deal in the summer. She cites Lucy Bronze and Kyle Walker as her idols and has impressed Tottenham staff with her physical prowess.

“I’ve never seen a player with that kind of physicality,” Tottenham head coach Robert Vilahamn said at the WSL media day. “She can sprint twice as many metres as anyone else in the league. When you put it all together with how we play and how she can do it, nobody can stop her.”

Her teammate Matilda Vinberg agreed. “Ella Morris is going to amaze everyone. I’ve never seen anyone so strong in everything. She crushes every test. She’s never tired. And we’re like, ‘What are you eating? Can I have the same?’”

ELLA MORRIS. SPURS PLAYER. photo.twitter.com/nS7JAoopHh

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) July 16, 2024

Wieke Kaptein, Chelsea

Chelsea signed midfielder Wieke Kaptein last summer, so the 19-year-old isn’t officially a new signing, but she was loaned to Twente for a year and now she’s finally arrived at Cobham and looks set to make her mark.

Kaptein has been one of the standouts in the pre-season, helped by the fact that an injury to Erin Cuthbert has opened up more midfield minutes — a situation only made worse by Sophie Ingle’s ACL injury. Despite her youth, Kaptein appears comfortable in senior football, highlighted by her breakthrough for the Dutch national team.

The midfielder is equally comfortable defending her area as she is pushing the opposition forward and seems well-suited to the varying demands of new manager Sonia Bompastor’s double pivot. With the departure of Melanie Leupolz and Jelena Cankovic, there are minutes to be had and Kaptein looks set to grab them with both hands.

Wieke Kaptein will play for the Netherlands in February (Olaf Kraak/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

(Top photos: Getty Images)