Hannah Hampton, Grace Clinton & the 10 best signings of the 2023-24 WSL season – ranked

When Mia Enderby was announced as a Liverpool player in the summer, it felt like the right move. The England youth international, who broke into the Sheffield United first team at 16 years old, would be taking her first steps in the WSL, in professional football, and the Reds offered ambition mixed with development. She’d have to battle hard for game time, yet it wouldn’t be unattainable – not with her talent.

A few niggles have limited her here and there, but when Enderby has had her runs in the team, she has thrived. Even the league’s best, most experienced defenders have shown fear up against the 18-year-old’s pace, and while her end product still needs some work, Liverpool have a real star for the future here.

Right-back has been a position of uncertainty at Arsenal for a while now, and it became a particular problem when Laura Wienroither went down with an ACL injury last May, having seemingly grabbed the shirt for herself. For the Gunners to pick up one of the most promising young defenders in world football to fill the role, then, was excellent business.

United States women’s national team star Emily Fox joined the club in January and has shown plenty of that top-level quality that has helped her nail down a starting role on one of the most competitive international rosters in the sport.

We’ve not seen the 25-year-old at her absolute best quite yet, due to the short time she’s been at Arsenal and the interruption of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in that period, but it’s already clear that she has been among the best signings made this season.

Another January signing, Matilda Vinberg is again a player we’ve not yet seen at her best because of a mid-season move, but there have been plenty of glimpses of her talent in the past five months. Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn knew all about the 21-year-old’s ability, having seen her showcase it against his Hacken side back in Sweden, and he didn’t hesitate to add her to his squad in north London during the Damallsvenskan’s off-season.

Vinberg adds another energetic, skilful and dangerous weapon to Vilahamn’s attack, one which improved steadily and impressively as this season went on, with her January arrival offering the club a nice boost in what has proved to be a very successful campaign. She’s got an extremely bright future and is only going to get better, too.

Bristol City’s relegation stops Amalie Thestrup from sitting further up this list, though the Robins’ fate would have been sealed much earlier if not for her goals. The Denmark striker’s two previous stints in England didn’t suggest she could be the prolific force to give Bristol hope of survival – she didn’t net a single goal last season for West Ham and only bagged four for Liverpool in the second-tier in 2020-21. However, Thestrup led the line brilliantly for her new side, scoring nine times for a team that has only managed 20 goals altogether.

It’s the most prolific season she has had outside of her homeland and will surely make her a target when clubs start searching for transfer value on the Robins’ relegated roster. But given how well she has played in this team, Thestrup may want to stick around and, if she does, it’ll give Bristol a huge boost in their bid to bounce back and win promotion at the first time of asking.

Had Grace Clinton been a permanent signing for Tottenham, she may well be top of this list, but that she’ll return to Manchester United at the end of her season-long loan spell makes it a slightly bittersweet one in a way, especially because that loan deal stopped her from playing against the Red Devils in the FA Cup final on Sunday.

It was a shame because Clinton has been an integral part of Spurs’ success this year. Finally afforded some regular game time in the WSL, the 21-year-old has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and produced form that has not only made her a fan favourite in north London, but also led to England recognition.

Vilahamn has expressed his desire to buy Clinton this summer, though it’s hard to see United letting her go, especially given she has spent the past year proving that she can be a star in this league.

Another name who arrived in the WSL from Sweden this season, Jutta Rantala has quickly become one of Leicester’s most important players. No one in the Foxes’ squad has more goals or assists in the league this season, with her also coming up big in an FA Cup run that took Leicester to the semi-finals and within minutes of reaching Wembley.

Those fantastic performances have come despite Leicester’s difficult circumstances, with head coach Willie Kirk suspended and ultimately sacked mid-season, making them all the more impressive. Rantala is a game-changer and she’s shown that in her first season at this top level.

When it was revealed before the season that Bethany England would be sidelined for several months due to a hip operation, many wondered where Tottenham’s goals were going to come from. The Lionesses striker scored 12 in 12 after a January switch from Chelsea last season, and almost single-handedly fired the club to safety. But Martha Thomas, a deadline day signing from Manchester United, shouldered the goal-scoring burden brilliantly in her absence.

The Scotland star scored six goals in her first four appearances for her new club, equalling her tally across two WSL seasons with the Red Devils. Injuries have limited her in the second half of this campaign, but Thomas has still come up with big moments, most notably the goal that took Spurs to Wembley for the FA Cup final.

Some players can just excel in any position and Sjoeke Nusken is one of them. She wasn’t a massively well-known name when her signing was announced by Chelsea ahead of this season, but the fans know all about her now after 11 goals in all competitions.

That’s despite Nusken not necessarily being recognised as an attacking player. She’s a battling midfielder who can also provide cover in the heart of defence, but Emma Hayes has tapped into her clever movement in the final third this season, to the point that she has even spent time occupying the opposition’s centre-backs.

Chelsea have had their fair share of injuries this campaign and that has made Nusken’s arrival all the more impactful, as the Germany international has been able to utilise her versatility, almost as much as her opportunistic traits in attack, to mark her out as one of the signings of the season.

After avoiding relegation on their return to the WSL last year, Liverpool did some really smart transfer business in the summer to enhance the squad and push it on to be on the brink of a fantastic fourth-placed finish, with Marie-Therese Hobinger the absolute pick of the lot.

The midfielder has been one of the most creative players in the league this year, owing to her vision and execution of a pass, but also her brilliant set-pieces, which were particularly eye-catching in the 4-3 win over Chelsea.

Hobinger ranks top among Liverpool players for assists, and third in the entire WSL, while she’s also second in the squad for goals scored, only behind towering striker Sophie Roman Haug, another of Matt Beard’s shrewd summer acquisitions. At just 22 years old, she’s only going to get better and better.

It took until December for Hannah Hampton to make her Chelsea debut, with many wondering at that time if she had made the right decision in joining the club from Aston Villa. However, in the six months since, the England star has usurped both Ann-Katrin Berger and Zecira Musovic to become the Blues’ No.1, and she’s also started to heap serious pressure on Mary Earps in the battle to be the Lionesses’ first-choice goalkeeper. It has to be noted just how difficult both of those things are to achieve.

Hampton’s natural talent has allowed her to succeed on both fronts and she deserves credit for the patience she showed, too. The 23-year-old never showed signs of frustration, she just worked hard to earn her opportunity and when she got it, she took it and then some. She looks primed to be Chelsea’s No.1 for many, many years to come.