Women's Super League

On the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast, Ellen White, Jen Beattie and Ben Haines discuss Jen's announcement that she is retiring from football.

The team take a look back at the career of the former Arsenal and Manchester City defender and what the future looks like post-football.

Plus hear an exclusive interview with Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor who explains how it feels to have a target on her back, the environment she's created at the club and her perfect start.

Plus Jen and Ellen share why they think Renee Slegers is the right fit to be the permanent manager at Arsenal and what went wrong for Manchester City in the derby.

Listen here

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

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Aston Villa hope to sign West Ham goalkeeper Katelin Talbert on loan this month.

Villa have been looking for a goalkeeper since New Zealand international Anna Leat left by mutual consent earlier this month and talks are ongoing with the two clubs.

Talbert spent last season on loan at Swedish club Djurgardens IF before joining Spurs for a short-term spell between September and December 2024.

The 26-year-old American is yet to make an appearance for West Ham since joining from Benfica in 2023.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland international Sandy MacIver has joined Washington Spirit from Manchester City on a three-year contract.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper made three appearances for City since joining from Everton in 2022.

"Thank you to all the players and support staff for making my time at this club a memorable one," MacIver posted on Instagram., external "I will miss being part of this team and wish everyone the best for the rest of the season.

"The fans are what make this club special, thank you for your incredible support. I've loved meeting you all at our games and your love for this team doesn't go unnoticed"

MacIver joins former City teammate Esme Morgan, who signed for the NWSL side in June.

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Women's Championship side Newcastle United have signed Aston Villa forward Freya Gregory on a permanent deal.

The 22-year-old spent the last two seasons on loan at Leicester City and Reading, before joining Southampton for another loan spell in the summer.

The England youth international made 12 appearances and scored twice during her time at Southampton before she was recalled earlier this month.

"To have this opportunity to play for such an ambitious, passionate club is something that I'm really excited for," Gregory told Newcastle's club website.

"I can't wait to be a part of the city and the club to see where this journey will take us all."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Celtic defender Caitlin Hayes is set to join Brighton in the Women's Super League this month.

The 29-year-old is due for a medical in Brighton in the coming days having been in advanced discussions over the weekend.

The Republic of Ireland international attracted interest from several clubs and held talks with Everton but Brighton fought off competition.

Hayes agreed a new three-year deal with Celtic in May 2023 so Brighton will pay a fee to bring her to the club.

Liverpool manager Matt Beard questioned some of the physical treatment Olivia Smith has experienced this season after his side's 2-1 win over Brighton on Friday but the pundits on the BBC's Women's Football Show said the Liverpool forward needed to get used to the physicality in the WSL.

Beard said the club's record signing was "probably going to get hurt" if the "treatment she is getting" from opponents continues to go unpunished by officials.

But Northern Ireland boss Tanya Oxtoby said: "I can see where Beardy is coming from, he's trying to protect his player and draw attention to some of the things he thinks he's seeing.

"But when you're a good player and have the ability of someone like Smith, you're going to draw attention and some of these fouls, or supposed fouls, from my point of view you're going to get this contact in the WSL. There are going to be times you have to ride that."

Former England and Liverpool striker Tash Dowie also feels Smith needs to expect to receive close attention from her opponents.

"She's the best player on the team, you're not going to give her that run and when they did give her the space you could see what they did.

"I'd actually challenge her to improve her game. I do think potentially she needs to use her upper body a bit better.

"She has so much talent. She can definitely add [physicality] to her game."

For more analysis watch the Women's Football Show, where you can catch all the highlights from the weekend's six matches.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Etihad Stadium

With key players missing for Manchester City, it felt like the perfect chance for United to capitalise and get one over their rivals at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

They wasted no time in doing so, going 3-0 up in the first half before halting a brief City comeback to eventually win 4-2.

United put City under pressure relentlessly and Ella Toone delivered the goods with a hat-trick on her WSL return from injury.

Toone’s goals capped off the perfect evening for the visitors but it was one to forget for City.

Young goalkeeper Khiara Keating was in the spotlight for costly errors but she was not helped by her team-mates as City invited pressure and initially failed to respond to United’s early onslaught.

They have work to do to claw back ground in the title race and this performance further highlights the loss of injured trio Lauren Hemp, Khadija Shaw and Alex Greenwood - all of which City need back as soon as possible if they hope to challenge rivals Chelsea.

United turned Manchester red with a 4-2 derby victory over City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Here is what the managers had to say after the game.

Man United manager Marc Skinner: "We all know what [Ella Toone] has been through. What's more important right now is that Ella Toone for Manchester United and England, enjoys football. I asked her after the game if she did and of course when you score a hat-trick, you will.

"There is so much more growth still to come with Tooney. She will take the headlines tonight but the whole team was excellent. We pressed Man City and gave them no time. It's what I said this week in terms of the personality and wanting to see that.

"Tooney gets a lot of plaudits because of the personal stuff she has been through and that she has come back from them. I want her to enjoy her football again and she is in a really good space to do that.

"Sometimes you need that break and she got that through an injury. I have to make sure she has that headspace and clarity. We need to protect her for the right moments. I want her to not only perform for Manchester United but in the very best form for England at the Euros. I want her to be in the right headspace."

Man City manager Gareth Taylor: "Our build up play is normally a really strong part of our game. It's the way I like to play. But we got it wrong tonight on a number of occasions.

"[We gave away] easy goals. The decision-making was off from us and it's frustrating to give away three goals in that manner. The fourth was difficult to take because it's a situation we don't need to be in.

"It's hard [for Khiara Keating]. You feel responsible and like you've let the team down. But she's been really good for us and she's a young keeper, so she's going to make mistakes. All goalkeepers go through that. What you want to see is the strength of character to come back and get the execution right next time.

"The margins are so tight in this league that a loss can be detrimental. You can lose one game in a season and not win the title. It's an uphill battle but we have another game on Wednesday [in the League Cup] and it's an opportunity to turn things around in our favour."

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of a return to Women's Super League action against Chelsea, West Ham boss Rehanne Skinner said her side could cause problems for their table-topping opponents.

In her defence, the Hammers have picked up seven of their eight Women's Super League points this season at home, losing only one of their four meetings on home soil in the league before Christmas.

During Sunday's 5-0 drubbing against Chelsea, the only problems they were able to cause were for themselves.

Catarina Macario's superb volleyed opener came as a result of the ball bouncing at the end of a tackle. Erin Cuthbert added a second thanks to a goal kick that was soon cut out by Nathalie Bjorn, with Aggie Beever-Jones' first half effort also coming as a result of the hosts not clearing their lines.

West Ham's defensive misfortune were summarised late on when Amber Tysiak could only steer her attempted clearance into her own net for Chelsea's fifth goal late on.

The Hammers' 2025 starts with a flurry of home games, something which Skinner and her side will relish having struggled outside of the Chigwell Construction Stadium this season.

Four of their first six matches this calendar year are at home and with Everton visiting next weekend, the Hammers will want and need to make amends from their London derby defeat.

Losing to Chelsea is no great shame, but the manner of the goals conceded and the scoreline will be two areas for concern.

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Dutch goalkeeper Lize Kop made her debut for Tottenham in their 1-0 victory over Leicester on Sunday.

Kop, 26, signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Spurs on Wednesday and after leaving the Foxes, was thrown straight into the starting line-up against her former side.

While Tottenham won thanks to a goal in the fourth minute, it was Leicester who had most of the shots and chances.

Kop had a quiet game but did what was required, making two saves to keep out efforts on goal from Ruby Mace and Missy Goodwin.

A debut cleansheet was also aided by Foxes captain Janice Cayman, who steered wide when presented an empty net six yards from goal in the first half.

Spurs' new number one struggled for minutes in the first half of the season at Leicester.

Janina Leitzig, the woman who kept Kop out of the team at Leicester this term, was the deciding factor in the match for the wrong reasons. Her attempted block with her foot to stop Amanda Nilden's cross gave Spurs their goal and subsequently, the three points.

Like Kop, Leitzig had very little to do in the match with Tottenham not registering a shot until the 74th minute, but the result did pin on her misfortune.

Arsenal continued their flying form under new head coach Renee Slegers with a thumping 5-0 win over Women's Super League strugglers Crystal Palace on Sunday. Here is what the managers had to say after the game.

Arsenal's Renee Slegers: "In the first half, you see that we haven't played competitive games at all for a month. In the second half I think we looked more like ourselves, there are definitely things we want to do better but we looked more like ourselves.

"I think credit to the girls to stay so persistent throughout the game. We end up with a clean sheet which is very important and five different types of goals.

"We have to believe that [the title race is still on] and we have to do everything within our control and we did that today.

"It's definitely the result we wanted and the result we needed. We have that belief and we keep on looking upwards in every game we play and try to get closer."

Crystal Palace's Laura Kaminski: "At the moment we have no problems with motivation. I know it seems like that from the outside looking in after a heavy loss, but we know how difficult it is to come here and compete against a side who are in and around the Champions League and are in a different place to us.

"We have to keep focused that these games are something we always fight and compete to get something out of, but for me there's things around the corner where we've got to really focus our attention.

"Unfortunately that's the level and the sharp end of the game that emotionally we have to stay controlled and know that the positives around the corner for us, we've got to go after games that we can go after in and around us."

Ciara Fleming
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Alessia Russo's purple patch continued on Saturday as she recorded a goal involvement for a sixth Women's Super League game in a row.

The England international was central to the Gunners' 5-0 demolition of rock bottom Palace, both scoring and assisting in the second half as they swept their opponents aside.

In a player of the match display Russo showed her full range of attacking qualities.

She demonstrated razor-like sharpness in the box to pounce on a loose ball before producing an improvised prodded finish high into the roof of the net.

That goal takes her league tally to seven goals, just two behind Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw.

Later on Russo demonstrated her ability to be a playmaker as well as a poacher by turning provider for Beth Mead.

She dropped off the forward line to collect the ball in the right channel before driving a pinpoint low cross into the feet of Mead to finish.

With games against rivals Chelsea and Manchester City up next in the league plus ties in both cup competitions, Arsenal will be hoping Russo can continue her excellent form in the weeks to come.

Image source, BBC Sport

Tottenham were gifted a 1-0 win over Leicester thanks to a fourth-minute own goal from Janina Leitzig at the Gaughan Group Stadium on Sunday. Here is what the managers had to say after the game.

Tottenham's Robert Vilahamn: "We knew it was going to be a tough game because we had a friendly postponed and FA Cup postponed so this was the first time we've played in five weeks. The rhythm, the relationships, we didn't really know how we were looking but then scoring after [four] minutes was quite nice but then we didn't really play so well today to be honest.

"They switched to a press and we actually struggled to make the decisions. If we look at where should we have high risk and where should we not, we can then dictate the game a bit more.

"I'm really happy that we had the character to win this game. We needed the win today to make sure we didn't get to close to the teams below us and make sure we get to look forward."

Leicester City's Amandine Miquel: "We missed a few clear occasions today and also, the last pass is often too forward or too long. We need to be more precise technically to make sure we create more [chances].

"[With our injuries] we try to deal with what we have, which is young players and trying to make sure they understand their new roles. Some full backs are playing as wingers, we finish games with midfielders as strikers. We try to adapt to the situation and make sure they know that everyone can score a goal and continue trusting our qualities.

"We have to continue with the rhythm we put into this game, make sure we're doing it in the next game, and I'm sure we'll eventually get the points."

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham are poised to sign Finland international Eva Nystrom.

The 25-year-old hopes to complete her move to London next week, ending a four-year stay at Swedish club Hammarby.

The centre-back would become West Ham's first signing of the January transfer window and fills a position that was a priority for manager Rehanne Skinner.

She has picked up 13 caps for her country having spent the majority of her career playing in Sweden after coming through the youth team at Finnish club PK-35 Vantaa.