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2 days ago
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not needfully Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but nan mean of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 1st successful nan Championship
Prospects
To measure nan prospects of a squad you would usually deliberation astir anterior performances, caller signings, anterior consistency, ambition and truthful galore much variables. Doing truthful for nan WSL newbies London City Lionesses is nigh-on intolerable because they person undergone a complete squad overhaul. A staggering 15 players person travel successful (with 2 past going retired connected loan) and 11 person exited. Change isn’t constricted to nan transportation either, pinch nan training crushed successful flux, buildings coming down and going up arsenic nan nine effort to move Cobdown Park successful Aylesford into an situation fresh for elite professionals.
There isn’t a precedent group by different promoted nine that would springiness america an denotation of nan side’s imaginable because nary promoted squad person had nan level of finance that London City person had pumped successful this summer. They are an anomaly, powered by nan finance of their billionaire owner, Michele Kang.
The ambition is high. As Kang said to Sky Sports astatine nan extremity of past season: “We person been building a squad to beryllium astatine a minimum, connected time one, mid-tier WSL”.
The five-time Champions League winning midfielder Saki Kumagai, who joined Kang’s task successful January, echoed that sentiment past week. “For us, it’s not astir staying successful nan WSL, though of people we want to, but it’s astir pushing towards that apical 3 aliases 4 truthful nan pursuing play we tin commencement pushing for Champions League qualification,” she said.
The task will beryllium stitching together a patchwork quilt of players. London City person signed immoderate large names, successful Daniëlle van de Donk, Nikita Parris, Katie Zelem and others, who subordinate players specified arsenic Kumagai and nan Swedish guardant Kosovare Asllani, but these are arguably players person to nan extremity of their careers than nan start. Marrying that acquisition pinch nan young talents who person joined into a squad tin of competing successful nan convention consistently is simply a large ask, but nan value is there.
The manager
Jocelyn Prêcheur was poached by Kang from Paris Saint-Germain successful 2024. He had taken nan reins location aft his father, Gérard Prêcheur, departed, stepping up from being an adjunct coach. That was nan 2nd clip 43-year-old had worked pinch his father, having assisted him astatine Jiangsu Suning successful nan Chinese Super League. He won his first and only trophy pinch PSG successful 2024, nan Coupe de France, and helped guideline London City to nan Championship (now WSL2) title successful his first season. The trial gets harder successful nan WSL but having gelled a broadside tin of helping nan nine execute their nonsubjective of reaching nan WSL he has shown he tin get caller players moving together.
Off-field picture
The acquisition and redevelopment of their 28-acre training installation is symbolic of Kang’s committedness towards her increasing women’s shot empire – pinch Washington Spirit and Lyon besides owned by nan billionaire. Kang has made clear she is not expecting short-term returns connected these investments, though she sees nan imaginable for profit successful nan agelong word fixed nan trajectory of nan women’s game. London City’s promotion connected nan last time of nan play was justification for nan investment. A mid-table decorativeness this play would do that further.
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Star signing
Who do you take retired of nan 15 incoming players? How astir 1 pinch acquisition and 1 rising successful Van de Donk and Jana Fernández respectively. The Dutch midfielder Van de Donk returns to London, wherever she won nan FA Cup, League Cup and WSL title pinch Arsenal, aft 4 years and 8 trophies, including a Champions League pinch Lyon. Fernández represents nan desire to build a squad pinch a future, nan 23-year-old defender recruited from Barcelona, wherever she was portion of a squad that won 3 Champions Leagues.
Stepping up
Isobel Goodwin returns to nan WSL aft leaving Aston Villa for Coventry United successful January 2023 having made 3 top-flight appearances. After six months pinch Coventry she joined Sheffield United and her 15 goals successful 19 games for nan Blades caught nan oculus of promotion-hungry London City. Last play she scored 16 times successful 18 games arsenic London City battled their measurement to nan title. How will she fare connected her return to nan WSL and pinch star-studded signings providing for her? It’s an breathtaking prospect.
It was a bully summertime for …
With London City spending big, trading clubs person astir apt had nan champion summer. A big of their caller squad competed astatine nan 2025 Euros this summer, though pinch England emerging victorious nary will person walked distant peculiarly happy. The 20-year-old Freya Godfrey made her indebtedness move imperishable this summer, having spent clip pinch Ipswich and Charlton connected indebtedness from Arsenal earlier spending past play pinch London City. The young midfielder scored successful a 3-1 friends conclusion by Lyon successful August.
Main inaugural to pull much fans
Attracting fans is 1 of London City’s biggest challenges. As an independent club, unconnected to a men’s team, they person nary existing fanbase to propulsion from, unless immoderate Millwall Lionesses fans switched crossed erstwhile nan women’s squad collapsed distant from nan nine successful 2019. Playing astatine Princes Park successful Dartford hasn’t helped. A move to Bromley’s Hayes Lane has travel pinch attempts to build a section fanbase, and finance is being made successful nan matchday experience. The nine person besides connected pinch astir 40 section girls’ teams crossed London, who person go sister clubs.
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