Manchester City Women are preparing to defend their Women’s Super League crown.
The Citizens finished four points clear at the top of the table last season, their first league title since 2016. They have been busy so far this summer but perhaps not in the way some might have expected.
Man City have made two new signings so far, while five players have left permanently. Kerolin is the biggest name, joining Barcelona for a reported £1.25million, the latest sum received by a WSL club. The club have also said goodbye to Khiara Keating and Leila Ouahabi on free transfers, while Laura Coombs retired at the end of last season.
But Andree Jeglertz’s side are still in a very good position to retain their crown thanks to their attack.
Why Man City’s attack can lead them to WSL glory
Depth on the wing
A lot of noise has been made in recent days regarding Kerolin’s departure. The Brazilian was the sixth-highest scorer in the WSL last season, scoring nine goals. But those goals came in just 15 matches, at an average of 0.91 per 90 minutes. Only Stina Blackstenius (1.04) and Bunny Shaw (0.97) scored more goals per 90 in the WSL among players with at least 800 minutes played.
Kerolin also ranked top among that group for her 0.5 assists per 90, with five in total. But Man City should manage without her. The Brazilian is likely to have dropped down the pecking order in a stacked attack, added to by the arrival of Beth Mead.
Man City have Lauren Hemp, Mary Fowler, Aoba Fujino, Iman Beney and Mead to compete for two winger roles. Not to mention younger star Poppy Pritchard — should she not join Lily Murphy on loan. And Niamh Charles is another option, having started as a winger before being converted to a more defensive role.
How do Man City’s wingers compare?
Fowler didn’t play much last season due to injury, amassing less than 200 league minutes. So we’ve excluded her from our comparison, but the above stats show that Man City will manage without Kerolin.
The Brazilian did come out on top against Hemp, Mead and Fujino for her 1.4 shots on target and 0.9 goals per 90. Both Fujino and Mead scored 0.3 goals per 90, from 0.6 and 0.5 shots on target, respectively. Hemp didn’t score a league goal despite averaging 0.8 shots on target per 90. So Kerolin’s goal threat from the wing will be missed, but Man City have the firepower in the middle to make sure it isn’t a major problem.
Mead will help ease the creative load on Hemp, with 0.6 assists per 90 from 2.7 chances created for Arsenal last season. Hemp created 49 chances in total across the season, more hand any other player in the WSL. The Englishwoman also led for her 15 big chances created, one of just two players to hit double figures in that metric.
The one thing Man City might miss from Kerolin is her dribbling. She completed 2.5 take-ons per 90 in the WSL with 54.76% success. While Fujino completed 61.9% of her attempted take-ons, the numbers were slightly lower at 1.9 per 90. Kerolin had the ability to weave her way through opposition defences, creating space that wasn’t previously there.
The dream centre duo
We mentioned that Man City have firepower elsewhere to cover Kerolin’s goals. And it might be the best duo in world football. Perhaps the biggest deal of the summer was Man City securing Bunny Shaw on a new contract. The Jamaican’s deal was set to expire in the summer and she looked on course to sign for rivals Chelsea. But an incredible U-turn saw her sign a new four-year deal.
The best striker in the world
Shaw was the top scorer in the WSL last season, netting 21 goals in 22 games. It’s the third consecutive season in which the Jamaican has taken the Golden Boot — a WSL record. She also scored 21 goals in 2023/24, while joint-holding the prize in 2024/25 with 12 strikes in an injury-hit season.
She was the only player to take over 100 shots (118) and have more than 50 shots on target (51) last season. Shaw was in a league of her own, leading the two metrics by some distance. She also scored her 21 goals with just two penalties. The 29-year-old also scored seven headers, the most in the WSL. In fact, Shaw’s head alone would have ranked inside the top 10 for goalscorers in the league last season.
But Shaw wasn’t just a goalscorer. She also created 30 chances in the WSL last season, including seven big chances.
Miedema back to her best
Then there’s Vivianne Miedema. The Dutchwoman joined Man City two years ago but missed half of her first season at the club through injuries. She still managed to score seven goals then, providing one assist. But she was back terrorising defences last season.
Now playing slightly deeper in a No.10 role, Miedema chipped in with 15 direct goal involvements in the WSL last season. Only Shaw (25) and Alessia Russo (19) was directly involved in more goals than Miedema. The Dutchwomen scored 10 goals, hitting double digits in WSL for the fifth time — ending a four-year wait in what has been an injury-hit period of her career. She also provided five assists, again the fifth time she’s achieved that in her WSL career.
Like Shaw, Miedema created 30 chances in the league, with eight being big chances — only three players created more in the WSL. She also ranked third for her 66 shots, and sixth for 25 efforts on target. Miedema ranked third in both metrics for per-90, when looking at WSL players with at least 50% of minutes played. Miedema’s league season came to a premature end due to personal reasons, but her work in helping Man City to the title was done.
Now setting up for another season together, Shaw and Miedema will continue to give WSL defences nightmares. And it will help Man City’s own defence, of their title.