Arsenal<\/p>\n
With so many senior players\u2019 contracts expiring in June, Arsenal\u2019s focus was on preparing for the summer, when they are expected to go through a major rebuild. Therefore their quiet window was no surprise, but they will be relatively pleased to have brought in a star of the future, Smilla Holmberg, at right-back and to have fulfilled their need for a backup goalkeeper, with Barbora Vot\u00edkova\u2019s deadline-day loan<\/a>. Much more significant, though, is the positive progress they are understood to have made in their attempt to sign Georgia Stanway<\/a> on a free at the end of the season, and big decisions such as not seeking to extend Katie McCabe\u2019s stay<\/a>, as they prepare to refresh the team.<\/p>\n Key ins: Smilla Holmberg (Hammarby), Barbora Votikova (Slavia Prague, loan)<\/p>\n Key outs: Jenna Nighswonger (Aston Villa, loan), Laila Harbert (Everton, loan)<\/p>\n Aston Villa<\/p>\n The signing of Oriane Jean-Fran\u00e7ois from Chelsea, for a fee reportedly as high as \u00a3450,000, is a major move from Villa, whose results have not gone the way they would have wanted in 2026 but can who be satisfied with their acquisitions. They also brought in Jenna Nighswonger on loan from Arsenal. The United States defender arrived in England with a terrific reputation but things have not worked out for her in north London so, if Villa can help her settle in the WSL and enjoy her football again, that could be a clever move. They also recouped some cash with the sale of the England winger Katie Robinson to promotion-chasing Bristol City.<\/p>\n Key ins: Oriane Jean-Fran\u00e7ois (Chelsea), Jenna Nighswonger (Arsenal, loan)<\/p>\n Key outs: Katie Robinson (Bristol City), Sarah Mayling (Leicester, loan)<\/p>\n Brighton<\/p>\n The main talking point of Brighton\u2019s window centred around a player who did not leave: Fran Kirby. The former England forward was strongly linked with Juventus and sources have said the 32-year-old would have liked the chance to play Champions League football again, but Kirby was not for sale because of her importance to the team. Olaug Tvedten\u2019s acquisition from V\u00e5lerenga should add a goalscoring threat to the midfield. But the relative insignificance of transfer news was put into perspective with the death of Brighton\u2019s head of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 coaching Rado Vido\u0161i\u0107, father of the head coach, Dario. The news affected everybody around the club.<\/p>\n Key ins: Olaug Tvedten (V\u00e5lerenga)<\/p>\n Key outs: Jorelyn Carabali (Boston Legacy FC)<\/p>\n Olaug Tvedten should add a goalscoring threat to Brighton\u2019s midfield. Photograph: Charlotte Tattersall\/WSL\/Getty ImagesChelsea<\/p>\n The club have frequently been declared \u201cwinners\u201d of transfer windows over the past decade but this one was a rare disappointment for Chelsea. They did not sign a player, despite trying to take Jennifer Echegini from Paris Saint-Germain. The lack of activity is partly down to their focus on summer plans, with significant incomings and outgoings expected, but it will frustrate their fans that they have not strengthened, amid poor form and with Sonia Bompastor taking the risky step of questioning their squad depth<\/a>. PSG\u2019s rejection of Chelsea\u2019s bid for Echegini, coupled with Villa\u2019s signing of Jean-Fran\u00e7ois, meant Chelsea were unwilling to loan the England youth midfielder Lexi Potter to Leicester, who had offered more game time.<\/p>\n Key ins: None<\/p>\n Key outs: Oriane Jean-Fran\u00e7ois (Aston Villa), Maika Hamano (Tottenham, loan)<\/p>\n Everton<\/p>\n Everton worked late into the night on Tuesday to complete their move for the Slovenia midfielder Zara Kramzar from Roma<\/a> and the supporters will have been glad the deal went through after an otherwise quiet window. Kramzar has arrived on loan with an obligation to buy this summer. The arrivals of Hannah Blundell and Laila Harbert on loan from Manchester United and Arsenal respectively will help to strengthen the squad somewhat. Everton stood firm regarding Kelly Gago, insisting they would sell only if her release clause were met, so the want-away France forward is staying. The head coach Brian S\u00f8rensen was sacked<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Key ins: Zara Kramzar (Roma, loan), Hannah Blundell (Manchester United, loan), Laila Harbert (Arsenal, loan)<\/p>\n Key outs: Katie Robinson (loan ended), Hayley Ladd (Crystal Palace)<\/p>\n Zara Kramzar (left) arrives on loan from Roma but Everton have an obligation to buy. Photograph: Just Pictures GmbH\/AlamyLeicester<\/p>\n The club have commonly had the lowest average age for a starting WSL XI this season, so their main aim was understood to be trying to add more experience, and they did that by buying Ashleigh Neville, Rachel Williams, Alisha Lehmann and Emma Jansson, and loaning Sarah Mayling from Aston Villa. Those five players have an average age of 31 and Leicester hope their maturity on and off the pitch can aid their quest to stay clear of the relegation playoff spot. The downside to Leicester\u2019s window was losing their former captain Janice Cayman to PSV, but it is understood the motivation was predominantly to be nearer home and loved ones, and she moved with the club\u2019s blessing and best wishes.<\/p>\n Key ins: Ashleigh Neville (Tottenham), Rachel Williams (Manchester United), Alisha Lehmann (Como), Emma Jansson (Roseng\u00e5rd), Sarah Mayling (Aston Villa, loan)<\/p>\n Key outs: Janice Cayman (PSV)<\/p>\n Alisha Lehmann made her Leicester debut in a defeat by her former club West Ham. Photograph: Leila Coker\/WSL\/Getty ImagesLiverpool<\/p>\n This was Liverpool\u2019s best window in recent memory and went a long way towards making amends for last summer\u2019s poor business and to mitigate for a lengthy injury list. The WSL\u2019s bottom club, in danger of losing their top-flight status without major improvements, appear to have delivered with several quality additions. The Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, in particular, is a world-class signing. At the other end of the pitch, the arrivals of Martha Thomas and Anna J\u00f8sendal should broaden the goal threat of the league\u2019s second-lowest scorers, and Alice Bergstr\u00f6m got off the mark with a goal last Sunday.<\/p>\n Key ins: Alice Bergstrom (H\u00e4cken), Aur\u00e9lie Csillag (Freiburg), Denise O\u2019Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Anna J\u00f8sendal (Hammarby), Jennifer Falk (H\u00e4cken, loan), Martha Thomas (Tottenham, loan)<\/p>\n Key outs: Rafaela Borggr\u00e4fe (Bayer Leverkusen, loan), Leanne Kiernan (Nottingham Forest, loan), Emilia Szymczak (loan ended)<\/p>\n Anna J\u00f8sendal should increase the threat posed by Liverpool, the WSL\u2019s second-lowest scorers. Photograph: Nick Taylor\/LFC\/Getty ImagesLondon City Lionesses<\/p>\n The best bargain of this WSL window was surely London City\u2019s signing of Delphine Cascarino<\/a> on a free from San Diego Wave on a three-and-a-half-year deal. The 28-year-old France winger, a star of Euro 2025 and in the prime years of her career, would ordinarily have been expected to sign for a club competing to win the Champions League, so her arrival is a major coup for the WSL newcomers, who went on to complete a deadline-day move for the Danish midfielder Malou Marcetto from Madrid CFF. Several players also left Eder Maestre\u2019s side on loan, including the young striker Lotta Lindstr\u00f6m, who scored a hat-trick for Birmingham in WSL2 last weekend.<\/p>\n Key ins: Delphine Cascarino (San Diego Wave), Malou Marcetto (Madrid CFF)<\/p>\n Key outs: Sofia Jakobsson (Toluca), Katie Zelem (West Ham, loan), Lotta Lindstr\u00f6m (Birmingham, loan)<\/p>\n Delphine Cascarino will bring star quality to the WSL. Photograph: Tullio M Puglia\/Getty ImagesManchester City<\/p>\n The leaders completed the marquee signing<\/a> of this window by bringing the US midfielder Sam Coffey to England. The women\u2019s game was shocked when it was revealed on 8 January<\/a> that the parties were in advanced talks. It was a flex of City\u2019s muscles, at a time when they are racing away with the league title, and another sign of the rising trend of US players being keen to play in Europe. Very little else happened during this window for Andr\u00e9e Jeglertz\u2019s side but their fans will most likely think it did not need to, with things are going so smoothly. The club know they need to bolster their defensive depth in the summer if they are to challenge for the European title.<\/p>\n Key ins: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns)<\/p>\n Key outs: None<\/p>\n Manchester United<\/p>\n