The New Team
We've picked out a team of 11 new signings that we are excited to see in SWPL action this season, or that have already been catching the eye in the early stages.
One of the great constants of football is excitement over shiny new things, the anticipation of the summer transfer window is palpable as the season draws to a close and fans begin to dream of the new signings their team will make. As always the SWPL has not disappointed. We have picked a starting eleven of the signings that have us most excited, or, in some cases, have already got us off our seats.
The usual caveat of one player per team applies, if there’s someone we haven’t included feel free to drop them in the comments (but, be nice). We’d love to hear who you’re excited for and, crucially, why.
Goalkeeper
Jeni Currie > Partick Thistle
As the 2023/24 season drew to a close Partick Thistle said goodbye to both of their senior goalkeepers as they returned to their parent clubs. Currie, meanwhile, had just spent the latter half of the season impressing in the North East for Aberdeen and found herself a free agent once again. A perfect match for Brian Graham to get his “number one” target (pun intended) in goal, and to provide a base on which to build with Partick Thistle no longer relying on loanee goalkeepers.
The 2022 NI Premiership Cup winner brings an absolute boat load of experience to her new club. Experience from the US college system, full time football in Bulgaria, Champions League with Hibernian, and as a Scotland youth international. She is a huge asset to a young side with high ambition. On top of all of that she was also one of the league’s most impressive keepers last season despite only arriving in January. Aberdeen had struggled to keep the goals out after losing Liverpool loanee, Faye Kirby, to an ACL injury just seven games in. Currie stepped up and made key saves, pushing them away from the relegation playoff into the safety of midtable.
Defenders
Lisa Evans > Glasgow City
A signing that really doesn’t need an introduction or explanation as to why it appears on a list of signings that have us excited. A Scotland centurion, formerly of Bayern Munich and Arsenal amongst others, one of the best players to have ever played for City: returning to the Greatest League in the World.
As Evans’ career has gone on she has drifted further and further back from the flashy forward that broke onto the scene at Petershill Park 15 years ago (wow, did anyone else’s back just twinge?). Now predominantly a full back, something she has maintained in her appearances so far, she is a statement signing from a Glasgow City side with wrongs to right. Still nowhere near the end of her career she has a lot to give, whether the plan is for her to hold down the right back slot or to push higher up. Her talents out on the wing representing a key threat for opposition clean sheet chances.
Jade Wilson > Gartcairn
Ambitious as ever, Gartcairn are ‘Chasing Glory’ this season and the capture of Jade Wilson from Dundee United is a signal of that desire for promotion. She has immediately been named captain of the SWPL 2 side with her leadership qualities standing out immediately to head coach Graeme Hart. 62 SWPL 1 appearances in the last two seasons to her name, promotion in her last season in SWPL 2. Wilson is a huge acquisition for Gartcairn.
A centre back with pace to burn and excellent timing in the tackle, she could be a difference maker in games that Gartcairn dominate possession. Her ability to sweep up counter-attacks and cover for her out of position teammates is crucial.
Jenna Penman > Motherwell
The first of a few Hearts’ departures on this list, Jenna Penman has swapped maroon for orange as she joins Motherwell. Already racking up half the minutes she did last season in the first four fixtures. This is an opportunity for the 21-year-old to cement herself as a key component of a team in the top flight.
Capable of playing as a right back or as a central defender she has mostly played as the right centre back in a back four so far. Spending formative years playing senior football at Hibernian and Hearts has led to her possessing a calmness and passing range that is rarely seen in central defenders. With Motherwell trying to exert themselves more on opposing teams, and trying to reduce last season’s 66 goals against, the addition of Penman could prove to be very shrewd.
Philippa MacConnell > Kilmarnock
Glasgow Women’s young player of the season for last season, 17 appearances in SWPL 1 the season prior at just 18, and while she may have suffered back to back relegations it is clear that the right back has a bright future in the SWPL. She clearly left her impression on Jim Chapman during last season’s encounters as she now joins up with Kilmarnock while they attempt to do what they came so close to last season and secure promotion.
Starting in all three of Kilmarnock’s games so far, she has made her ability abundantly clear. Locking down her wing, playing her part in some of the fantastic build up Kilmarnock have played this season, and even assisting from corners. She has the potential to be another of the young stars at Killie that get us dreaming of a blue and white striped utopia.
What new signing are you excited to see in the SWPL this season?
Midfielders
Kirsten Reilly > Hibernian
Another big SWPL return as Reilly returns to her childhood club, where she spent a (very successful) 18 months between 2018 and 2019 before seeking full time opportunities elsewhere. Most recently found 400 miles southbound with Crystal Palace where she won the Championship and helped the club to their first ever promotion into the WSL.
Much has changed since she left, the league structure for one, Hibs status as a full time team for another, but perhaps the most important when it comes to her return is that she’s been playing at right back for Palace. She’s been back in midfield so far but the growth in her abilities as a defensive player is evident as she makes up one half of a midfield pivot with (another new signing) Ciara Grant. The addition of her control in the middle of the pitch could be the difference maker Hibs need to get back to trophy lifting days.
Erin Rennie > Spartans
Young, attacking minded, in search of minutes after graduating to senior football... It’s the Spartans signing blueprint, and we are here for it. Rennie had seen her minutes dry up as Hearts recruited heavily in her position, going from 23 SWPL starts in 22/23 (30 total appearances) to just seven last season (22 total appearances). A move to Spartans is a chance for her to get back into regular game time, and to find her place in the SWPL without the pressure that exists at a team undergoing such a drastic rise in standards such as Hearts.
Partnering Hannah Jordan (who is as all-action as they come) she could really flourish into one of the league’s unsung playmakers. We caught glimpses of her vision and quick passing ability at Hearts, with Spartans she’ll be tasked with really honing in on those to help create chances as they look to retain SWPL 1 status.
Cailin Michie > Boroughmuir Thistle
After a successful spell at Hibernian Michie moved to Damallsvenskan side Piteå where she spent a successful season before returning to Scotland. Last season she made 24 top flight appearances for Hearts (ten starts). While we wrote our sensible transfer suggestions we were aware that she had been coaching at Boroughmuir Thistle but had assumed that she would stay in the top flight. This signing (alongside Mason, Galbraith, et al.) is a real coup for Boroughmuir Thistle.
She can easily fill in at full back on either side but we would expect her to add to Thistle’s midfield ranks this season. Traditionally she’s a defensive presence; tough tackling and disruptive through her reading of the game. Not necessarily known for her goal contributions but after a pair of screamers on debut at Meadowbank perhaps that is about to change. She will most likely be the in-possession link between defence and attack, transitioning the ball through the lines while protecting them when it comes the other way. Not the flashiest role, but one of the most important if they are to push for the title.
Forwards
Katie Wilkinson > Rangers
SWPL defenders will be horrified at how many goals they have let Katie Wilkinson score in her early career north of the border, with it taking just four games for her to hit double figures. She does hold the record for goals scored in the Championship so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. She’s also doing all this on top of being a café owner and director of football at AFC Fradley which makes us question if we’re just really lazy or whether time somehow moves differently for her.
Not the quickest member of the Rangers squad, ‘Wilko’ boasts strength that makes her a tough test for any central defender. Not only is she strong, but her experience up to this point means that she has an eye for space. Her second against Partick Thistle the perfect example of this. As the ball is progressed down the wing she drops away from the retreating centre back, the first ball doesn’t find her so she hangs out on the edge of the box until it is played to Brogan Hay on the opposite wing; this is when she makes her move toward the six yard box. Holding her run slightly she is perfectly placed to take advantage of the ball rebounding off of a defender to slam home. Almost a prophetic knowledge of where she needs to be to put the ball in the net, a huge addition to an already high scoring side.
Bayley Hutchison > Hearts
Last season she finished as top scorer in the SWPL despite Aberdeen finishing eighth (yes, a bunch of those goals were post-split against bottom six sides but we don’t care, 28 goals is a boat load). Meanwhile, Hearts finished fourth scoring 21 fewer than Glasgow City in third place and losing narrowly in the Scottish Cup final against a misfiring Rangers team. Eva Olid’s reign has hit what people in her former home of Houston would call ‘the stall’ - a barbecuing term that refers to the time when the internal temperature stops rising before the cook is done (yes, we are watching Barbecue Showdown, what’s your point?).
Hutchison was an under-23 internationalist during her time at Aberdeen but her university schedule got in the way of her really making that place hers, now she’s able to concentrate on football full-time and that represents a very exciting prospect from a Scotland perspective. She showed the ability to do it all at Aberdeen; whether it was going in behind, drifting wide, holding the ball up, or providing a more traditional poaching threat. At Hearts we are looking forward to her specialising in one kind of forward play (preferably the clinical goalscorer kind for NT reasons). If she can get anywhere near the number of goal contributions she hit last year then Hearts will be very happy, and potentially have a trophy case to build…
Saoirse Noonan > Celtic
Another senior Ireland international in the SWPL? Yes, please! And Noonan isn’t just any Ireland international, a former Gaelic football wonderkid who balanced excelling in both sports until 2021. She was a basketball player until she was 12, Camogie until she was 15, and was even an Irish invite to the Aussie rules draft in 2019. At 25, she is coming into her prime and firmly focusing that sporting prowess on football. Combined with her desire to make her mark on the international stage that could be a dangerous prospect for her opponents.
Predominantly a forward, Noonan excels when she has someone further forward to play off of. Whether that is out wide or, as is likely in Sadiku’s system, as a secondary striker. The three time Ireland international is quick, physical, and (most importantly) knows how to find space. Three goals in three games so far, it’s looking like Celtic might just have another Irish star to add to their collection.