Manchester United Women at a Crossroads: The Need for Squad Strengthening

Manchester United Women stand at a crossroads.

Last season summed it up brutally: a Champions League quarter-final run, competitive on the biggest stage, but no European football secured for the campaign to come. Close to the elite. Able to live with them in bursts. Nowhere near relentless enough to stay there.

Eight years on, the gap still looms

United only reformed their women’s team eight years ago. That context matters. While City, Arsenal and Chelsea built dynasties, United were starting from scratch. The Red Devils have crammed plenty into that short window – Champions League qualification, three cup finals, an FA Cup triumph – but history and infrastructure are hard opponents to chase down.

The foundations simply aren’t as deep. That’s the reality. To close that gap, United always needed to take giant strides on and off the pitch. They’ve taken some. Not enough. And while they’ve been learning to walk at the top level, their rivals have been sprinting.

Nowhere has the shortfall been more obvious than in squad depth. Last season, with Champions League football added to a domestic schedule, the lack of options bit hard. It was flagged a year ago. It wasn’t fixed. This summer cannot repeat that mistake.

Recruitment hasn’t been a write-off. Far from it. Julia Zigiotti Olme and Jess Park were clear hits from last summer’s business. The problem was volume. They were two of just three signings for a squad that was expected to compete seriously on four fronts. It always looked light. It proved to be exactly that, even with some January reinforcements.

So far, there’s little sign the club are attacking this window with the urgency the situation demands.

Rivals press the accelerator

Look around, and the contrast is stark.

City, fresh from winning the WSL and FA Cup, made it clear they wouldn’t tear up a title-winning squad. They haven’t. They’ve just improved it. Beth Mead arrives as a proven, top-level attacker with medals and big-game pedigree. Niamh Charles fills a clear need at left-back and adds more England experience. Most importantly, City have locked down Khadija Shaw, the WSL Golden Boot winner, resisting Chelsea’s interest and tying their star striker to a new deal.

Arsenal have gone the other way: bold, aggressive, impatient with a seven-year wait for a league title. In a blistering two-week burst, they unveiled Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle, Selina Cerci, Geraldine Reuteler and Lisa Baum. They’re not done either, with interest ongoing in Barcelona free agent Salma Paralluelo. That’s the kind of transfer campaign that doesn’t just close gaps. It can flip the league.

Chelsea’s window has been messy, but still effective. They’ve been turned down by Shaw, by Paralluelo, by Felicia Schroder in their search for a striker. Yet the squad is stronger. Katie McCabe brings ferocious quality and versatility. Matsukubo, one of the standout performers in last year’s NWSL and still only 21, looks an outstanding addition. And their centre-forward chase may be ending with Paris Saint-Germain’s Romee Leuchter expected to arrive, according to Vrouwen Voetbal Nieuws.

These are clubs consolidating power. Adding layers to already elite squads.

United’s quiet summer – and growing noise around exits

United’s response? So far, one signing.

Andrea Medina has come through the door, a talented 22-year-old capable of playing centre-back or left-back. It’s smart business. She adds quality and depth in a problem area. But she stands alone for now.

The silence around incoming targets has been almost as loud as the chatter around potential departures. The most concrete stories concern players heading out, not in. Melvine Malard is, by multiple reports, closing in on a move to Chelsea. The Athletic reports the club are open to selling Elisabeth Terland, last season’s top scorer, if a suitable bid lands. The logic is clear: cash in now and reinvest, rather than lose the Norway international for nothing when her contract expires next summer.

Terland turned down a new deal in November. She isn’t the only one heading towards the final year of a contract. Ella Toone is in the same position. Asked about her future last month, the England midfielder didn’t offer any assurances.

“Obviously it’s now time to talk,” Toone said. “I just know I have got to make a decision on what’s best for me.”

Those are not the words of a player nailed to the project for the long term. United are trying to chase down the league’s superpowers. They’re also trying to hold on to their own.

Pressure from above – and below

The challenge isn’t just to catch City, Arsenal and Chelsea. It’s to stay ahead of the wave building behind them.

London City Lionesses are the clearest warning sign. Backed by billionaire Michele Kang, who also owns Washington Spirit and eight-time European champions Lyon, they have made a statement few thought possible a year ago. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas has been lured to England. Mapi Leon, a four-time Champions League winner, has followed. Former Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps is on board. Prolific Germany forward Nicole Anyomi has signed too. That isn’t a mid-table rebuild. It’s a power play.

Tottenham, who finished just one place and four points behind United last season and took points off them home and away, have wasted no time either. Five new faces are already in. Shekiera Martinez arrives with 16 goals in 32 league games for a struggling West Ham side. Kirsty Hanson joins after a WSL campaign in which only Shaw and Alessia Russo scored more. Goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen reportedly chose Spurs over Arsenal and PSG. That’s a statement of intent from a club that used to sit in United’s rear-view mirror. Now they’re right on the bumper.

Brighton, another side who caused United real problems last term and reached the FA Cup final in May, have added former Arsenal midfielder Lia Walti. It’s a clever, high-calibre signing for a team clearly intent on pushing on.

The pack is tightening. Standing still means going backwards.

Skinner’s reality and a narrowing margin for error

Marc Skinner has never hidden from the financial realities. As last summer’s transfer window pushed the women’s game to new spending levels, he admitted United could not compete with seven-figure fees like those that took Olivia Smith to Arsenal and Grace Geyoro to London City.

“The reality is we have to try and find our own way to do it,” he said.

United did find some value. Zigiotti Olme and Park proved that. But they didn’t do enough of it. Not to sustain a campaign on four fronts. Not to cope when injuries and fatigue hit.

This season offers a different landscape. No Champions League. Fewer games. A chance, in theory, to sharpen focus on domestic success, just as City did when they used a year without European football to reset and power their way to another WSL title.

There’s also hope that the January arrivals finally catch fire. Lea Schuller, in particular, needs to. The striker came from Bayern Munich with a formidable goal record, but finished her first 18 United appearances with just two goals. Six months of adaptation are now banked. Excuses will run out quickly.

A defining window

Strip it all back and the picture is simple.

This squad needs major strengthening. Not tweaks. Not a couple of clever bargains. If United want to compete with City, Arsenal and Chelsea, and keep pace with ambitious clubs like London City, Spurs and Brighton, they need numbers and quality, across the pitch.

The club can argue that a quiet start to the window doesn’t mean a quiet finish. That’s true. Deals can accelerate. Plans can unfold late. But the mood around the league is clear: rivals are acting like contenders. United still look like a team debating how bold they dare to be.

They have already learned the cost of hovering just short of the top. The question now is blunt: do they build a squad to stay there, or watch others take their place?