Women's Super League

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Goalkeeper Katelin Talbert has returned to West Ham following the end of her loan spell with Tottenham.

The 25-year-old made one appearance for Spurs during a short-term loan that began on 7 September.

The American also spent last season on loan at Sweden side Djurgardens IF, having previously played in the United States, Iceland and Portugal.

Tottenham are seeking a goalkeeper in the January transfer window, which opened on Wednesday, with BK Hacken's Jennifer Falk among their targets.

Spurs goalkeeper Becky Spencer signed a new contract with the club in November that will run until June 2026.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool are hoping to sign Scotland international Sam Kerr on loan from Bayern Munich this month.

The Women's Super League transfer window opened on 1 January and closes at 23:00 GMT on 30 January.

Manager Matt Beard said in December it is likely the club will sign just one player in January and sources say they hope it will be Kerr.

Liverpool have had long-standing interest in the 25-year-old midfielder and missed out on signing her in 2022.

Kerr joined Bayern in the summer of 2023 on a three-year deal and has made 13 appearances for the German side.

Image source, Manchester City

Rebecca Knaak said she "didn't have to think about" joining Manchester City.

The 28-year-old defender is the first signing of the January transfer window for Gareth Taylor's side and arrives at Joie Stadium on a one-and-a-half year contract from Swedish champions FC Rosengard.

"It feels exciting to be here," Knaak said. "I think the WSL is the best league in the world right now. When I heard about the interest, I didn't have to think about it because it's such a big, big opportunity which I wanted to take.

"It was helpful for me that I already know Therese [Sjogran - City women's director of football]. I really trust her and her abilities, so it gives me a good feeling. The club has the highest ambitions and goals, and this also matches my own ambitions.

"I'm very proud and I feel honoured to be part of this big club. I can't wait to get started."

Knaak brings reinforcements to Taylor's side who are missing a number of key senior players through injury.

The Women's Super League may be on a winter break, but BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast is back for a New Year's Eve special.

Joining Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie is England international and former Manchester City defender Esme Morgan.

The team chat how Esme has got on in America playing in the NWSL including making it to the championship final, losing out to Orlando Pride.

Plus hear from England under-17's head coach Natalie Henderson and Demi Stokes, who talks about her move to Newcastle, motherhood and her passion for cooking.

Listen now on BBC Sounds

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Everton manager Brian Sorensen had an informal chat with incoming executive chairman Marc Watts following Thursday's takeover by the Friedkin Group.

Sorensen was joined by Everton Women chief executive Alan McTavish as Watts emphasised the importance of the women's team.

They met at the training ground and Watts later addressed all staff in a wider meeting, discussing their ambitions for the future.

Among the things Watts discussed was a desire to bring stability and support for the club and he pointed to the Friedkin Group's record at Roma Women.

It comes on the same day Everton signed France forward Kelly Gago for an undisclosed fee from Nantes - their first recruit under new ownership.

We have had 10 rounds of fixtures in the Women's Super League this season and as usual Chelsea are leading the way.

Former England defender Anita Asante has chosen her team of the season so far and explains the reasons behind her selection.

Feel free to comment with your own XI here.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Lack of finances and an inability to help an ongoing injury crisis have left Everton in a precarious position in the Women's Super League for the past two seasons.

But the Friedkin Group's takeover of the club, announced earlier on Thursday, could spark a rebuild as manager Brian Sorensen hopes to add depth to his squad in the January transfer window.

Sources close to Everton say the club have a list of targets they hope to act upon with the takeover complete.

Among them is a potential £100,000 bid for Arsenal midfielder Kathrine Kuhl, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Everton between January and May 2024.

Players and staff are expected to meet with representatives from the Friedkin Group to discuss ambitions for the women's team.

There are already plans for both the men's and the women's first teams to visit the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in the new year.

Occasional WSL matches are also expected to be held there once the move is complete, as has happened at Goodison Park.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa midfielder Missy Bo Kearns will be sidelined for four weeks after having a "planned operation" on her foot.

The club said it was not a serious injury and she was expected to return in mid-January.

The Women's Super League season has now paused for the winter break and Villa's next match is their FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Bristol Rovers on 12 January.

Kearns has made nine appearances for Villa, including seven starts, since joining the club from Liverpool in August.

Image source, Getty Images

The Women's Super League has reached the mid-way point with defending champions Chelsea leading the way above Manchester City and Arsenal.

Crystal Palace sit bottom of the table in their first campaign in the top flight with Leicester just one point above.

Let's take a look at some of Opta's key stats from the season so far.

• Chelsea's six-point advantage over second place Manchester City is the biggest gap between the top two at the winter break since 2017-18.

• Chelsea's tally of 28 points after 10 games so far this season (W9 D1) is the best by a team at this stage in the WSL.

• Manchester United have conceded just three goals in the WSL, with only eventual champions City in 2016 (2) leaking fewer goals after 10 games.

• Excluding the current top-three sides in the WSL, Brighton rank first for average possession (53.2%), passes made (4,917) and open-play sequences of 10+ passes (105).

• Arsenal are unbeaten in their six WSL games under Renee Slegers (W5 D1) with the Gunners currently on the longest winning run in the top-flight with four.

• Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor is unbeaten in her 10 WSL games in charge (W9 D1), the joint-longest unbeaten start to a manager's career in the competition (also David Parker in 2011).

• City's Khadija Shaw is the only player to hit double figures for goal involvements in the WSL this season (9 goals, 1 assist), with her nine goals more than three teams have managed overall this term (Leicester – 3, Everton – 6, Crystal Palace – 8).

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton forward Nikita Parris says that one of the keys to her fast start to life on the south coast is manager Dario Vidosic.

"One thing that has really clicked between me and Brighton is the manager, how he is and how he sees football," Parris told BBC Sport.

"Every day I'm learning something new individually and he's working with us and that's what helps us collectively," she added.

At the halfway stage of the WSL season, the Seagulls sit in fifth, just four points off the Champions League places.

Parris has been integral to that form, scoring three goals and assisting a further two in eight starts, most notably an equaliser against former club Manchester United in October.

"It hasn't all been perfect, some games we've got the results and other games we've got the performances, but not the result and that's what usually happens when you're on a journey, with a new team, a new style of play and a new manager," she said.

"Ultimately the end goal is to get both the results and the performances consistently and that's what we want to work towards."

She added: "I've adapted to life really well down here, faster than I did at Arsenal. I really feel comfortable and happy and that's testament to the club and the players."

The decision by Aston Villa interim boss Shaun Goater to restore midfielder Kenza Dali to a more central position played a crucial role in their win over West Ham, according to former England midfielder Fara Williams.

France's Dali scored and provided an assist in her side's 3-1 victory on Sunday in their first Women's Super League match since the departure of Robert de Pauw.

"I've been surprised in recent weeks that Kenza Dali hasn't had many minutes in this Aston Villa team, given the qualities that she has," Williams told the Women's Football Show.

"When she has played, she has played in an unnatural position in wide areas.

"We have seen today that when you put her in a position that she is comfortable, she can really have impact and have an effect on the game.

"Overall her performance in her natural position – she really lifted that team and created much more chances for Aston Villa."

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

Manchester United moved within a point of neighbours Man City in second with a narrow away win at bottom of the table Crystal Palace.

Here is what the managers said after the game.

Crystal Palace boss Laura Kaminski: "We could have gotten more out of the game today, so it's another point dropped for us. I've never seen this team defend or play like that against a world-class side.

"At the end, I was saying that some people have been here for 10 years, while we've been here for 10 games. I feel like now the tide has to start turning in our favour.

On pressure at the bottom of the table after positive results for Everton and Leicester: "Those results could have happened at any point in the season. No one can predict what will happen, and that's what makes this league so special. Anything can happen on any day. One day, that tide will turn for us too."

Manchester United boss Mark Skinner: "We had to win this game. We're now joint third, just a point off City in second, and into the Continental Cup quarterfinals for the first time in two years. It's been a good end to this part of the season, but now we need to push on in the new year."

On Grace Clinton's influence on the side: "She's absolutely vital. What I loved about her performance today was her tenacity. Before the game, we said this match would be won on transitions.

"The conditions didn't favour build-up play, but we knew we could capitalise on transition moments. Grace did exactly that—she was aggressive, pressed hard, and finished beautifully."

Arsenal closed the gap on their Women's Super League title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City with a hard-fought victory over Liverpool. Here is what the managers said after the game.

Liverpool head coach Matt Beard: "We're frustrated with the result. We put a lot into the performance today. I think if you look at the goal we lost the game on, from our end, our standards in both boxes, generally set plays are really good, to lose it on that is frustrating.

"I said to them we've had a lot thrown at us in the first half of the season, the injury situation we've had, decisions go against us so to finish off on a committed performance like that, albeit not the result we wanted - a positive we can take into the new year."

On their recent performances: "The players deserve a lot of credit for having to go through changes week in week out. We can look back on this as a big learning curve and make sure we don't repeat the same injury issues that we've had and have a fully fit squad to choose from because when we do have a fully fit squad to choose from, nine times out of 10 we win games."

Interim Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers: "I think we give them the game they want and we should have dictated what the game would look like. I think we did the business today. We kept a clean sheet, won with one goal and got the three points which was most important today."

On title rivals dropping points: "We can't control what the other teams do. We saw the results and I think the girls saw Chelsea yesterday and they got some extra motivation out of that but still it doesn't mean anything. I don't think you should get dragged away in those emotions. It's still about what we can do, very happy with everything in our control we did today, we took the three points."

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United entered the Women's Super League winter break with three points, just about.

Their narrow 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace should have been more but United's lack of firepower almost came back to haunt them.

Marc Skinner has come in for criticism this season from some sections of the United support for their conservative style of play that has seen them draw three of their 10 games.

United have netted just 16 times so far this term with Chelsea scoring 31, Manchester City have 10 less than the WSL leaders and Arsenal have managed four more than United.

The visitors were firmly in control of the match and registered 14 shots but only three of them were on target.

If it was not for a poor defensive mix-up from Palace in the last kick of the first half, Skinner's side may not have found the net at all.

Despite the lack of goals, United find themselves in fourth place, just a point adrift of City in second and have a Champions League spot firmly in their sights when the season resumes in January.

The main reason for this is their incredible defensive record with just three goals conceded. To put that into perspective, league leaders Chelsea have conceded six.

When the league resumes in January, Ella Toone may be ready for action after a calf injury and United will need her firing on all cylinders.