Newcastle United Target Liverpool’s Leanne Kiernan

Newcastle United are closing in on a statement signing, with talks at an advanced stage to bring Republic of Ireland forward Leanne Kiernan from Liverpool.

The 27-year-old still has more than a year left on her Liverpool deal, having signed an extension in 2025, so any move would require a fee from the ambitious second-tier side. That alone underlines Newcastle’s intent: they are not browsing for bargains, they are paying for proven pedigree.

Kiernan has spent five years on Merseyside, scoring 23 goals in 76 appearances for the Reds. Her standout campaign came in 2021-22, when she drove Liverpool to the WSL 2 title and finished as the club’s top scorer with 14 goals. When Liverpool needed a cutting edge in that promotion push, she supplied it.

Her journey to Anfield ran through West Ham, where she made more than 40 WSL appearances after emerging at Shelbourne. By the time she left Ireland, she was already marked out as one to watch. By the time she left West Ham, she had proved she could live with the physical and tactical demands of the English top flight.

Internationally, Kiernan has been a mainstay. Since her debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2017, she has earned 38 caps, offering pace, pressing and direct running across the front line. Coaches trust her work-rate as much as her finishing.

Yet at Liverpool last season, the door began to close. Under Gareth Taylor she struggled for minutes, starting just once in the WSL before heading to Nottingham Forest on loan in January. The move gave her game time, but it also signalled a shift in her status at Anfield.

That shift became clearer this summer when Liverpool strengthened their attack again, bringing in Germany forward Vivien Endemann from Wolfsburg. With fresh competition and limited starts, Kiernan’s path back into the Liverpool XI looks increasingly crowded.

Newcastle are ready to exploit that gap.

The club have already been busy this window, making six additions as they gear up for a serious tilt at the WSL 2 title. Kiernan would add something different: a forward with promotion experience, a record of delivering in decisive moments, and the know-how of both the second tier and the top flight.

For a side intent on climbing into the WSL, it is exactly the kind of move that changes a dressing room’s belief.