We’re back with a roundup of week two of the FAWSL January 2021 transfer window. If you missed out on the biggest deals made during the first week of the window, catch them all here.

Here’s what FAWSL clubs have been up to in the meantime.

 

BIRMINGHAM CITY

Birmingham’s first piece of business saw them sign 23-year-old Veatriki Sarri from Championship side Sheffield United.

Signed. Sealed. Sarri delivered. ✍️ @veatriki_sarri becomes our first signing of ????????????????, joining for an undisclosed fee from Sheffield United.

— Birmingham City Women (@BCFCwomen) January 7, 2021

Sarri has played for Sheffiled United since 2018. When she first joined the club, she was managed by Birmingham’s current manager, Carla Ward. The pair reuniting will mean that Sarri already knows Ward’s preferred management style, and the expectations she has for players.

✊ The Boss on what @veatriki_sarri will bring to the team. pic.twitter.com/yvYnvmKjGU

— Birmingham City Women (@BCFCwomen) January 8, 2021

Birmingham currently sit 7th in the table, with nine points, a massive improvement on last season, where they finished the season in 11th place with seven points, a mere point above Liverpool who were relegated to the Championship.

Defensively, Birmingham are quite solid — they’ve only let in 13 goals this season, which puts them in fifth place for goals against after Chelsea (five), Arsenal (eight), Manchester United (nine), and Manchester City (nine). Despite being ahead of them in the table, both Reading and Everton have conceded more goals, 15 and 20 respectively.

Offensively however, Birmingham have only netted nine goals this season, which puts them in ninth place in terms of goals scored in the league. Sarri coming in gives them an extra offensive player that could turn close games into wins or draws, earning them a few extra points as they look to break into the top half of the fixture.

"I am a creative player. I like to dribble, shoot and score goals. I really want to help this Club achieve bigger and better things."

???????? Hear the first words from our new recruit, @veatriki_sarri!

— Birmingham City Women (@BCFCwomen) January 9, 2021

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

So far, Tottenham Hotspur have made two signings, the first being Alanna Kennedy. Kennedy has already been at Tottenham since August of 2020, having decided to go on loan from the Orlando Pride due to the fact that the team couldn’t play because of COVID-19.

However, in November of 2020, Racing Louisville FC selected Kennedy during the NWSL expansion draft with their sixth overall pick. Because her contract with the NWSL expired in December of 2020, Kennedy was free to sign a permanent deal with Tottenham, making it unclear when, or if, she’ll return to America.

✍️ We are delighted to announce that Alanna Kennedy’s loan has been converted into a permanent transfer. #SpurHerOn ⚪️ #COYS

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) January 7, 2021

The second transfer window signing for Tottenham Hotspur was Shelina Zadorsky. Zadorsky’s situation is similar to Kennedy’s — she came to the UK after having not been able to play for Orlando due to COVID-19, and now has also signed a permanent deal with Tottenham.

✍️ We are delighted to announce that defender Shelina Zadorsky’s loan has been converted into a permanent transfer. #SpurHerOn ⚪️ #COYS

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) January 7, 2021

Both Kennedy and Zadorsky have been crucial for Tottenham this season. Kennedy has featured in all nine of Tottenham’s league games as a starting defender, and Zadorsky has featured in eight. Both have been bright spots all season, even in the early days when Tottenham were struggling.

As mainstays on their respective national teams (Australia and Canada), Kennedy and Zadorsky bring in a wealth of experience that will continue to be crucial to Tottenham under the new management of Rehanne Skinner, especially after the recent departure of Alex Morgan.

???? @AlannaKennedy ????#SpurHerOn ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/iSY8esZQPB

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) January 7, 2021

WEST HAM UNITED

Tottenham were not the only side with plans to sign permanent deals to their loanee players, with West Ham also confirming that Emily van Egmond signed a permanent contract. A member of Australia’s national team, van Egmond joined Melbourne City on loan when the Orlando Pride were unable to continue with their season, winning two trophies in Australia before joining West Ham on loan.

She's staying! ????????⚒

We are delighted confirm the permanent signing of @Em_surf! ???? pic.twitter.com/o0PTSVxBdx

— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) January 8, 2021

In her nine league appearances with the club, she’s scored three goals, becoming a crucial part of West Ham’s midfield. The club signing her on a permanent deal will definitely bolster their hopes that they can improve on their current 10th place. While they are unlikely to be relegated (Bristol City only have two points!), they were very much in the relegation battle at the beginning of the season. Signings like Van Egmond will help them bolster their squad and allow them to be more competitive in following seasons.

"It’s great to stay here. I’m really enjoying my football here at West Ham too, and I’m excited to be working with the new manager."

???? @Em_surf pic.twitter.com/2Fi7ycZd88

— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) January 8, 2021

The FAWSL is back this Sunday, with a critical match between Manchester United and Chelsea, the top two teams in the league. The transfer window likewise remains open, so stay tuned for next week’s roundup of the league’s biggest moves.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.