NWSL free agent Mallory Swanson will re-sign with the Chicago Red Stars, The Athletic reported Friday.

A spokesperson for the Chicago-based club confirmed that, although an offer is not final, Swanson plans to stay with the Red Stars. Though she received significant offers from other clubs, including Racing Louisville, Swanson wishes to continue playing in Chicago, according to The Athletic. 

Swanson has been the Red Stars’ primary offensive asset since her signing in 2021 and she began her most recent season as such. She scored seven goals in six appearances for the U.S. women’s national team and two early goals with Chicago, but Swanson ended up sidelined for the rest of the season after tearing her patellar tendon in April 2023.

On Oct. 15, Swanson posted pictures of herself training with the Red Stars with no brace or support on her injured knee — she may be healed and ready to play by the start of the next NWSL season in March. 

The Chicago club is undergoing many changes in 2023 and leading into 2024, including a new head coach, Lorne Donaldson, and a new ownership group, led by Laura Ricketts, part-owner of the Chicago Cubs, the team for which Swanson’s husband plays.

Lorne Donaldson has been named the next head coach of the Chicago Red Stars, the club announced Wednesday.

Donaldson last coached the Jamaica women’s national team, leading them to the knockout stage at the 2023 World Cup in the team’s second appearance at the premier international tournament. Following the tournament, the Jamaican Football Federation said “both parties came to an agreement” for his departure.

The Jamaican coach is also president of elite youth club Real Colorado, where he helped to develop USWNT star forwards Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. Swanson entered the offseason as a free agent but is expected to re-sign with Chicago, where she has played since 2021.

In October, the Jamaica Observer reported that Donaldson had turned down international offers and was opting to take a break from coaching national teams.

“I have turned down interviews but I won’t say which countries. But yes, that has happened,” Donaldson told the Jamaica Observer. “The plan is just to sit back, but I don’t know what I want to do from here. But, I am still coaching because I am still in charge of my club with 6000 kids in Colorado in the United States and so I am coaching every day.

“Coaching is always a part of my life. There is a lot of stuff that happened recently — not talking about Jamaica — but I didn’t want to be involved right now because I just want to just chill and do what I want to do just for a little while. … I have done it for a long time but I just want to just sit back and just still coach and still develop players, but just take it easy for a little bit.”

Donaldson is the third coach to lead the Red Stars since 2021 after disgraced head coach Rory Dames was banned for life by the NWSL for his alleged verbal abuse of players during his time with the club. Chris Petrucelli was appointed head coach in 2022, but the club parted ways with the coach before the conclusion of the 2023 season.

The 2023 season was a rough one for the Red Stars, with the club going on two separate four-game losing streaks and finishing at the bottom of the league table. Additionally, they were shut out in five of six Challenge Cup matches. A knee injury to star forward Mallory Swanson did not help.

In September, the club was sold to an investor group headed by Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts. The club was put up for sale by Arnim Whisler in the aftermath of the NWSL’s abuse scandal and his involvement in it.

“Lorne has a proven track record as a winning coach and an advocate for his athletes. We believe he has the experience and leadership skills to elevate our talented group of players,” Ricketts said in a news release.

Even before Vlatko Andonovski officially resigned as head coach of the U.S. women’s national team, the debates about who should replace him already had begun.

Despite the many differing opinions, everyone can agree on this: The new USWNT coach will face a tall task in preparing the team for next summer’s Olympics. And while the USWNT job is arguably the most desirable position in women’s soccer, it comes with great expectations.

Who has the skills and experience needed to lead the USWNT into its next era? Just Women’s Sports takes a look.

Note: Sarina Wiegman is not on this list because she has made it pretty clear that she is committed to remaining with England.

Lluís Cortés

One report already has linked Cortés to the USWNT as a possible replacement for Andonovski. The former head coach of FC Barcelona Femení, he is stepping down as coach of the Ukrainian women’s national team at the end of August upon the expiration of his contract.

Per The Athletic, Cortes had been in conversations with some NWSL clubs, but Relevo has reported that he also has been contacted by U.S. Soccer. Under his tutelage, Barcelona won the 2020-21 UEFA Women’s Champions League title. The team finished as runners-up in 2018-19 and twice won the Copa de la Reina.

Lorne Donaldson

Donaldson might be a sleeper pick for the USWNT head coach, but he’d make a lot of sense. His connection to Sophia Smith, Jaelin Howell and Mallory Swanson — all of whom he helped develop at the youth level — is intriguing, and his success with Jamaica despite limited resources even moreso.

One big knock against Donaldson is his limited experience, having only coached at the developmental club level and now for the Jamaican national team. But he is worth consideration, especially after leading Jamaica to its first-ever knockout round at the 2023 World Cup.

Tony Gustavsson

The Australia head coach feels like a somewhat natural hire for the USWNT. A longtime assistant coach for the U.S. under two separate head coaches, Gustavsson was a key member of the coaching staff for a long time. So long, in fact, that he designed the set piece plays that helped Carli Lloyd score twice during the 2015 World Cup final.

The one thing Gustavsson lacked in earlier USWNT coaching searches was head coaching experience. Since 2019, though, he took the helm for Australia, coaching the Matildas to their first-ever World Cup semifinal appearance.

Laura Harvey

Harvey is the lone NWSL manager on this list solely because the USWNT needs a coach with quality international experience (the Mark Parsons Netherlands era is an automatic disqualifier).

The OL Reign head coach has that experience – and with the USWNT. She’s worked as a head coach at the developmental levels while also serving as an assistant coach to the senior team from 2020 through 2021. She also has experience as a youth assistant in the England national team system. In short: Harvey checks most, if not all, of the boxes.

The three-time NWSL coach of the year, she also won six trophies while coaching at Arsenal. From her time as manager of the U-20 U.S. national team, she knows many of the younger players who are coming up in the ranks and will be tasked with taking over the USWNT and carrying on the legacy. And while she has said her priority right now remains with OL Reign, she has not ruled out the possibility of a return to the USWNT.

“I enjoyed my time at U.S. Soccer. That’s no doubt,” she said. “The U.S. women’s national team is probably the top job in the world, if not a top three job in the world. That’s just reality. And if my name is anywhere near it, then that’s an honor.”

Emma Hayes

Emma Hayes has found immense success with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, and she has been discussed before as a possible coach for England. She is familiar with the U.S. system, having coached at the collegiate level and for the Chicago Red Stars from 2008 to 2010. And since 2012, she has built Chelsea into a powerhouse program in the WSL.

Recently, Hayes signed USWNT star midfielder Catarina Macario and prospect Mia Fishel, and she has long coached Australian star Sam Kerr, so she’d clearly have some pull with players on the team. Whether or not she wants to leave what she’s building at Chelsea, however, remains to be seen.