Newcastle United Target Leanne Kiernan from Liverpool

Newcastle United are in advanced talks to sign Republic of Ireland forward Leanne Kiernan from Liverpool in what would be one of the standout deals of the Championship summer.

The 27-year-old, a proven scorer at WSL and international level, still has more than a year left on her Liverpool contract, so any move to the second-tier side will require a fee. For a club with Newcastle’s ambitions, that will not be a deterrent. It looks like an investment in goals.

Kiernan has been at Liverpool for five years, signing an extension in 2025, and her numbers tell the story of a player who delivers when trusted. She has 23 goals in 76 appearances for the Reds and was central to their surge back to the top flight, finishing as the club’s leading scorer with 14 goals in their WSL 2 title-winning campaign in 2022.

That season underlined her value. She led the line, stretched defences, and turned tight games. Liverpool climbed; Kiernan’s stock rose.

Her path to Merseyside ran through West Ham, where she made more than 40 WSL appearances after breaking through at Shelbourne. By the time she left east London, she had already built a reputation as a tireless runner with a sharp eye for goal.

Internationally, she brings pedigree. Since her debut in 2017, Kiernan has earned 38 caps for the Republic of Ireland, adding experience of major qualifying campaigns and big-pressure fixtures to any dressing room she walks into.

Yet last season told a different story at Liverpool. Under Gareth Taylor she struggled for minutes, starting just once in the WSL before heading out on loan to Nottingham Forest in January for the second half of the campaign. While that move gave her game time, it also underlined her slide down the pecking order.

Liverpool’s summer business has only hardened that reality. The arrival of Germany forward Vivien Endemann from Wolfsburg has further crowded the attacking positions, making an exit for Kiernan feel less like a surprise and more like an inevitability.

That is where Newcastle step in.

The Championship club have already been busy, with six new signings through the door as they gear up for a serious tilt at the WSL 2 title. Kiernan would not simply be another body in that list. She would be a headline addition: a forward with promotion on her CV, a proven scorer at this level, and an international who knows what it takes to carry expectation.

Newcastle want to move up. Kiernan, at 27 and entering her prime, wants to play. If the deal gets done, both ambitions collide in a way that could reshape the promotion race.