Neel Shelat analyses the popularity of Australian players in WSL, their transfer flows, and why the A-League is still underappreciated as a scouting destination
At the time of writing, the best-represented foreign nation in English Women’s Super League squads is Australia. The 16 players coming from down under even exceed Scots and Welshwomen, while the closest non-European nation is Canada with just 10. We can see a similar pattern looking at this relationship the other way around as well, as half of the Matildas squad going to the Olympics spent the 2023/24 season in the WSL – not including the injured Sam Kerr.
The factors behind the success of Australian players in the WSL are quite obvious. The lack of a linguistic barrier between the two countries and cultural similarities make adaptation relatively easy for the players, who are incentivised to move over as their domestic league has not yet been fully professionalised, whereas that changed for the WSL a good few years ago. Of course, this is a win-win scenario both for English clubs as they get to sign talented players and the Australian national team, whose players’ scope for development and improvement increases as they move to a stronger league.
However, upon closer inspection, we find that this relationship is not as efficient as it could be in terms of players’ moves from Australia to England. Given the proportion of Australian players in the league both currently and historically, WSL clubs make a surprisingly low number of signings directly from the A-League. At the same time, other clubs in the major mainland European leagues also seem to be missing out on opportunities to sign talented players from the country, although that should change very shortly as international scouting in women’s football seems to be rapidly improving.
For now, though, there are a couple of set pathways that almost all domestic players leaving the A-League tend to go on.
Transfer Pathways
There are two major well-trodden paths that Australian players leaving the A-League have taken in recent years: going to the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States of America or joining a club playing in a Nordic top-flight – most likely Sweden’s Damallsvenskan although Norway’s Toppserien and Denmark’s Kvindenligaen are good options as well.
The first option certainly is the safer one for a whole host of reasons. For one, the aforementioned lack of a significant cultural and linguistic barrier makes the transition. Moreover, the NWSL is among the world’s strongest leagues and therefore offers a very high level of competition as well as good salaries – certainly far exceeding the ones on offer in the A-League. Finally, the door to England absolutely remains open as NWSL sides conduct a good deal of business with WSL clubs in every window. Sam Kerr is perhaps the most notable player to have taken this route, while others include Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Alanna Kennedy. Kaitlyn Torpey could well be next on the list, as the young full back fetched Melbourne City the record A-League departure transfer fee when she joined the San Diego Wave this February.
The other route is perhaps a little more difficult but also offers a greater chance of ultimately going to England for players who wish to do that. Katrina Gorry and Teagan Micah have both used this way to reach the WSL in the last year, joining West Ham and Liverpool from Vittsjö and Rosengård respectively. However, this is a far more popular path for youngsters who end up spending just one season in the Nordic league before moving to the WSL more often than not. Clare Wheeler (Everton via Fortuna Hjørring), Courtney Nevin (Leicester City via Hammarby) and, most notably, Kyra Cooney-Cross (Arsenal via Hammarby) are some recent examples. Brighton & Hove Albion, who signed Charlize Rule and Mackenzie Hawkesby straight from Sydney FC, are the exception that proves the rule.
This Scandinavian stopover is the chief cause of the inefficiency we previously referenced. The case of Cooney-Cross illustrates this best, as Arsenal reportedly spent around £300,000 to sign her in September 2023 after Hammarby brought her in on a free transfer in March 2022. Cooney-Cross has spoken highly of her experience in Sweden herself and the abundance of game time she got there would have undoubtedly helped her develop, but signing her in 2022 surely was a missed opportunity for the Gunners as well as other big clubs in the major European leagues given her outstanding performances as a teenager in the A-League.
There also are a couple of alternative offshoots we ought to address. One was Japan, where some of Australia’s best players including Sam Kerr spent a season or two around the time of the professionalisation of the WE League in 2018. Clubs there have since significantly shifted focus to domestic player development, though, and the league seems even more under-scouted than the A-League at this point, so the viability of this destination has significantly reduced.
However, an emerging destination is mainland Europe. Last season, three Australians played for some of the biggest clubs in the region: Ellie Carpenter for Lyon, Clare Hunt for Paris Saint-Germain, and Hayley Raso for Real Madrid. Other clubs in these leagues can also be used as stepping stones to top clubs in the big leagues, as was the case for Mary Fowler who moved to Montpellier before joining Manchester City.
Standouts from the 2023/24 A-League Women
While established pathways can prove very helpful, the best way for a league to ensure that its players end up at the world’s strongest clubs is to quite simply have very talented players. The A-League certainly does not fall short in that respect, as the 2023/24 season showed.
Using TransferLab’s Best XI tool, we can easily identify the best players across all the positions on the pitch.
A couple of these players left midway through the season and a couple of others have sealed moves this summer, deservedly so too. Most notable among them is Cortnee Vine, who will soon turn up in the colours of the North Carolina Courage on the back of a sensational season for championship winners Sydney FC.
The breakout star of the season was Daniela Gali?, who shone for a premiership-winning Melbourne City side at just 17 years old. Soon after turning 18, she sealed a move to Europe. Her destination is yet to be announced, but she will surely be one to watch thanks to her exceptional on-ball quality, and at such a young age.
Julia Grosso should also announce her next move soon having exercised a clause in her Melbourne City contract that allowed her to pursue an overseas opportunity this summer. She stood out as an excellent ball-playing full back who comfortably inverted into midfield in 2023/24, also holding up quite well defensively except in the air.
Among those still in Australia, we have to mention Michelle Heyman and her Golden Boot-winning 17-goal season. At 36 years old, though, she will likely not get another move abroad.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Lara Gooch enjoyed a breakout season with the Newcastle Jets. She showed promising signs as a direct winger posing a good carrying and dribbling threat, creating well with her passing and chipping in with a few goals as well. Her versatility in being able to play on either wing both up front or as a full back is a valuable quality as well.
22-year-old Sharn Freier also excelled on the left wing. Brisbane Roar used her at left wing-back much more than left back, making the most of her attacking qualities which include progressive carrying and passing, chance creation and even getting into quality goal-scoring positions, although she significantly underperformed her xG tally of 5.3 with just 3 goals.
Bryleeh Henry is another Melbourne City full back worth keeping an eye on. She too is very polished and secure on the ball, offering great progression through passing and carrying as she often stays back to form a back three. Naturally, she is given a good deal of defensive responsibilities in that role as well, which she fulfils well.
Isabel Gomez (pictured in the header image) established herself as a key player as the Central Coast Mariners enjoyed a great return to the league by going as far as the semi-finals. The 21-year-old midfielder proved to be a fantastic ball-winner and carrier as well as getting the ball into promising positions with her passing and creating a decent amount of chances.
Another exciting midfield prospect is Alana Murphy. At just 19 years old, her game is still rough around a few edges, particularly on the defensive side of things, but she has already shown herself to be an excellent progressive passer in the A-League who is also quite commanding in the air.
Other ones to watch for the future include Indiana Dos Santos (LW/CAM, 16, Sydney FC), Emma Dundas (CM/FB, 17, Newcastle Jets), Madeleine Caspers (CAM, 17, Sydney FC) and Peta Trimis (FW, 17, Central Coast Mariners), who all have shown the potential to make it big.
We must also mention Julie Dolan Medal winner Sophie Harding (ST, 25, Western Sydney Wanderers), Mackenzie Hawkesby (CM, 24, Sydney FC) and Taylor Otto (CB, 26, Melbourne City) as well, although they have confirmed that they will continue to play for their respective clubs in 2024/25.
While this piece has predominantly focused on Australian players and their pathways out of the A-League, it is worth acknowledging those from elsewhere in the world too. Japanese duo Nanako Sasaki (DM, 25, Adelaide United) and Keiwa Hieda (LW, 24, Western United) could be ones to watch in the window. American defender Julia Grosso is already on the move as we previously mentioned, though the US will remain the third most-represented nation in the league behind Australia and New Zealand among at least 13 others, including the Philippines, Serbia, China and Venezuela. The A-League is quietly growing as a hub for international player development, so it is worth following from that perspective too.
GBE Criteria: A New Complication
The readers who peered particularly closely at the images in the previous section might have noticed that not every player was GBE-eligible, which obviously is a big complication for English clubs. Last summer’s updated criteria are to blame for that, as the A-League was shifted from Band 1 to Band 2 (an odd change given that the men’s A-League was ugraded to a Band 5 league, effectively making it much easier to sign players from there).
This, of course, reduces the number of points players can earn in the league. The trouble is that the league is the only realistic avenue for players to earn points, as the Matildas squad is almost solely made up of those playing in Europe and the NWSL. The Olympic squad, for instance, consists of only two A-League players, who are 33 and 36 years old. As a result, international minutes are almost out of the question for youngsters in the league. Continental competition minutes will only benefit those who get the chance to play in the new AFC Women’s Champions League, although they could easily earn enough points by virtue of finishing as champions.
If you run the numbers, you will find that a player featuring for a top-half A-League club (except the premiers and champions, of course) can only earn up to 23 points through their club – just one short of the required 24. They would still be eligible to have their case considered by an exceptions panel, but of course, that is yet another additional complication (and cost).
This issue will likely not affect the most promising youngsters in the country as most of them play for either Melbourne City or Sydney FC, who have established a duopoly in the premiership and championship battle. Players lifting either trophy will get extra points, which should be enough to tip them over 24 as long as they play a sufficient proportion of minutes, of course.
It is worth remembering that this is only a concern for English clubs, who also have options to work around this potential problem through loans. In fact, the Scandinavian stopover pathway has effectively been the same as a one-year loan for A-League talents in those leagues, so English clubs could look to directly utilise that and avoid paying additional transfer fees. As aforementioned, though, Australians are joining top clubs around the major European leagues, so they as well as their competitors might soon start shopping directly from the A-League.
In a world where women’s teams continue to operate on incredibly tight budgets for the most part, the A-League offers a golden opportunity for bargain deals. The potential is there both for Tier 1 (elite-level) clubs to sign the best youngsters from one of the top-ranked nations in the world, as well as others to bring in exciting prospects and help them develop before generating revenue through transfer fees. Seeing the Matildas’ success as well as how long the NWSL and Scandinavian leagues have been taking this approach, it is surprising that it has not fully caught on in England and mainland Europe, but surely it is only a matter of time before that changes.
Header image copyright IMAGO / Sopa Images
