For the first time Everton women embark on a season where their sole home will be Goodison Park.
Brian Sørensen’s charges will be eager to improve on an eighth place finish last term with a top half finish seen as an achievable goal. The Friedkin Group takeover has breathed new life into the club and with fresh investment comes new opportunities as well as expectations.
The Halfway Line previews an already historic WSL season for Everton football club.
How they finished last season
It was an unconvincing start to last season for the Toffees. No Everton player scored a goal in the league till mid November and just a week later they picked up their first league win. Following that first victory in the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, Everton sprung into life. Soon after they shocked the league with victory over title chasing Manchester City.
After the winter break a shrewd January transfer window followed. Sørensen added Kelly Gago, Martina Fernández, Maren Mjelde and Hayley Ladd to his squad. Statement wins, a 4-1 win against Leicester, 0-2 against Aston Villa and 3-0 against Crystal Palace saw the Toffees well clear of the drop zone.
A point away to Manchester City with the identical Holmgaard twins combining, was the icing on the cake of a rescued season. The cherry on top was completing the double over city rivals Liverpool at Anfield in final weeks of the season.
Sørensen often stated that last season his team were ‘flying while building the plane.’ A clever turn of phrase to describe that his was a side in transition. However that line is unlikely to travel well with supporter if the Toffees suffer another poor start.
How the transfer window has shaped up
It has been a busy window of incomings and outgoings for Everton. A litany of first team stars from last season have exited. Player of the Season Sara Holmgaard has joined Real Madrid. While first team regulars Heather Payne, Justine Vanhaevermaet and Maren Mjelde have all left for pastures new.
All four are big misses, Payne and Holmgaard were Everton’s starting full backs for much of last season. The pair had the most and second most tackles in Everton blue last season while Payne had the most blocks. Payne is a tireless runner and won the club’s Young Player of the Season just a couple of seasons ago, her decision to join a rival in Leicester City is concerning. Vanhaevermaet’s aerial presence was relied upon heavily at times by Everton last season. The Belgian, who scored against Spain at EURO 2025 this summer, won 46 aerial duels last season, more than double the next most aerial duels won by an Everton player.
Despite the outgoings Everton have bought smartly. One such acquisition is 20 year old winger Ornella Vignola who joins from Granada. She managed six goal involvements in Liga F last season and she is already off the mark for the Toffees scoring in pre-season against FC Midtjylland. Vignola also scored at Goodison Park against Juventus in Everton’s final pre season friendly to enter the season in good form. The Spaniard was also part of the side that won the Under 20s World Cup with Spain in 2022.
Katie Robinson has also signed on loan for Everton. The young winger has found herself featuring at full back for Everton in pre season, even getting an assist against Midtjylland. The Toffees have also strengthen by adding WSL talent in the form of Yuka Momiki from Leicester City and Maz Pacheco from Aston Villa. Each are smart signings ready to hit the ground running at Goodison Park.
Perhaps the biggest show of ambition this summer was that Everton made the loan move of their Young Player of the Season last year, Martina Fernández permanent from Barcelona. The Spanish centre back had the most clearances of any Everton player last term and at just 20 years old, has a big future in the game.
Late in the window Everton pulled off a marquee signing: Ruby Mace from Leicester. The Toffees demonstrated their deep pockets with the signing after an initial bid of £100,000 was understood to have been turned down. A later bid for the 21 year old who made her England debut earlier this year was accepted and was thought to be significantly more money. Other signings include young midfielder Rosa Van Gool from Ajax, defender Rion Ishikawa from Urawa Red Diamonds and full back Hikaru Kitagawa from BK Häcken.
Key players that will make an impact this season
Perhaps the most important bit of business Everton did this summer was tying down Kelly Gago to a contract extension. The French forward was heavily linked with a move to PSG ever since she impressed following her January move last year.
Everton struggled for goals last season, the departed Sara Holmgaard led the team for goal involvements with seven alongside Katja Snoeijs. Gago was joint top scorer with Snoeijs even after only making nine starts while the Dutch forward started every single match last season. Gago also has one of the best chants in the WSL to the tune of Radio Gaga by Queen ‘All you need is, Kelly Gago…’ Okay, maybe you had to be there.
In midfield Honoka Hayashi stood up to be counted when her side were struggling last year. She was the first Everton player to score a league goal and did so at a time when it was desperately needed with her side a goal down to Crystal Palace. Australian midfielder Clare Wheeler signed a new contract in the summer and does a lot of the unfashionable work for the team. Wheeler had the most interceptions, ball recoveries and progressive passes for Everton last season. With two years of WSL experience under her belt she is only improving, 11 years on from making her senior club debut for Newcastle Jets when she was just 15.
Everton’s goalkeeper has been their ace in the hole in previous years. Irish number one Courntey Brosnan made 92 saves in the WSL last term, more than any other goalkeeper. The year before she made 95, once again more than any other goalkeeper and last year Brosnan had her highest save percentage in a league season ever. Her leadership at the back will be vital before club captain Megan Finnigan returns from an ACL injury she suffered in January. Finnigan has been at the club since she was 9 years old and has a knack for scoring goals against Liverpool, a welcome talent in those parts of the world. Her return, whenever it may be will be a welcome boost.
Predictions for the season ahead
Everton have had a pre-season training camp in Denmark and have been put through their paces. It will stand them in good stead, comfortable victories have followed in the Northern European nation, the home nation of their head coach. They rounded out pre season with an entertaining dust up at Goodison against Juventus which ended in a 3-2 defeat to the Italian champions.
A kind start to the season sees them avoid last season’s top four until match day seven. A good start could be priceless for the Toffees as we saw with Brighton last term. However a big squad turnover, the loss of key players as well as adapting to their new home are likely to make this another season of transition for Everton.