USWNT Stars Chasing Trophies in England: Arsenal, Chelsea, City, and United
Emily Fox is not in England to make up the numbers. She made that plain before a ball is even kicked in the new WSL season.
“I think you have to go for all of them,” the USWNT defender told ESPN, laying out Arsenal’s stance on every domestic and European trophy on offer. “If you want to be the best, you have to go for it and be all in.”
Arsenal know exactly how thin the margins are. One league defeat last season, yet six draws dragged them away from Manchester City and the title. Every dropped point stung. Every stalemate felt like a missed step. This year, they cannot afford repeats.
Their final preseason outing suggested a team ready to hunt, not chase. A 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic on Wednesday carried the sharpness of a side that understands what is at stake. Fox did not start, but when she came on at right back in the second half, she wasted no time making her mark, driving forward and forcing Charlton goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse into a save.
This is why Arsenal signed her. At 28, Fox is one of the elite one-on-one defenders in the league, but she doesn’t just lock down a flank — she tears up it. She defends aggressively, then surges relentlessly into space, stretching back lines and changing the rhythm of attacks. That two-way dominance earned her a place in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.
She looks set for another big season in North London. And she has already made the stakes clear: Arsenal are not circling one competition on the calendar. The Gunners want them all.
Coffey Returns to City With a Title and a Point to Prove
If Fox’s story is about a push for everything, Sam Coffey’s is about timing. When she picked up an injury late in Manchester City’s title-winning campaign, the biggest damage was felt thousands of miles away.
Coffey missed the USWNT’s June camp and two friendlies against Brazil in Brazil — a crucial window in a year building toward World Cup qualifying. For a midfielder trying to cement her place in the national setup, that absence cut deep.
The recovery has gathered pace. Coffey played 45 minutes in a preseason match against Barcelona, a vital step in her return and a strong signal she should be ready for the WSL’s opening weekend.
Last season was her first in England. After a brief settling-in period, she forced her way into the Manchester City XI and made 10 league appearances following her January arrival. By the end, she was no longer just adapting; she was central to a side that claimed its first WSL crown in a decade.
Now she enters the new campaign with that experience behind her and a clearer understanding of the pace and physicality of the league. With USWNT World Cup qualifying looming this fall, her priorities are simple and urgent: regain rhythm, stack consistent minutes, and stay healthy after that extended spell out. City need her control in midfield. The U.S. may need it even more.
Thompson, the New Face of Chelsea’s Attack
Chelsea’s summer has been full of change. One constant they will cling to is Allyson Thompson.
The winger arrived last season and instantly looked at home. No easing in, no cautious cameos. She attacked defenders, made clever runs around the box, and finished with a calm edge that belied her relative inexperience in England.
The numbers backed it up. Thompson scored nine goals in 32 appearances across all competitions, finishing as Chelsea’s second-highest scorer. Seven of those came in the WSL, where she also added three assists. Those performances earned her a nomination for WSL Player of the Season and a place in the league’s Team of the Season.
Her rise has mirrored her trajectory with the USWNT. When wide options such as Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson were out on maternity leave, Thompson didn’t just fill in — she climbed the depth chart and grabbed a starting role on the wing. So far, she has four goals and four assists for the U.S., numbers that hint at a player only just getting started.
With Chelsea reshaping their squad and identity, Thompson is no longer just a bright new signing. She is one of the players they will lean on to carry the attack through a long, demanding season.
Girma’s Moment at Chelsea — If Her Body Lets Her
Naomi Girma has a gift: she makes defending look almost casual. She reads danger before it fully forms, steps into passing lanes with authority, and positions herself so well that attackers often run out of ideas rather than space.
On the ball, she is just as composed. Girma can thread passes into feet, break lines, and start moves with the kind of precision that turns defense into launchpad.
Chelsea need that now more than ever. They hope this is finally the season when Girma’s club career truly lifts off.
So far, it has been stop-start. Injuries and limited minutes have disrupted her rhythm and denied her the chance to build the kind of chemistry a back line needs. No one questions her talent. The issue has been availability. Every time she has started to gain momentum, something has pulled her back.
Even last season, Chelsea had to carefully manage the minutes of both Girma and Millie Bright, while Veerle Buurman shouldered more responsibility.
If Girma can finally string together a sustained run of matches, the ceiling is enormous — for her and for Chelsea’s title hopes. The same story runs through her international future. A healthy, in-form Girma should be a first-choice USWNT center back for the October fixtures against Spain and into World Cup qualifying.
The question is no longer whether she is good enough. It is whether she can stay on the pitch long enough to show it, week after week.
Tullis-Joyce, United’s Wall Still Chasing the No. 1 Shirt
Phallon Tullis-Joyce enters this WSL season with a reputation already built: one of the league’s most reliable goalkeepers.
Last year, the American made 21 WSL appearances for Manchester United and kept seven clean sheets. Across all competitions, she recorded 17 shutouts — a remarkable return that underlined her importance to United’s defensive stability.
Yet the USWNT’s No. 1 jersey is still not hers. Not definitively.
The biggest hurdle is clear. Her shot-stopping is proven, but her distribution remains the key area she must sharpen to fully convince at international level. Emma Hayes wants a goalkeeper who can help the team play out from the back, act almost as an extra defender, and keep the ball moving under pressure. Tullis-Joyce has made strides there, but United’s more direct style does not always give her the platform to showcase that side of her game.
This season, she will also face a fresh challenge at club level. Janina Leitzig’s arrival from Leicester City hands United genuine competition in goal and much-needed depth as they try to close the gap to the league’s elite.
Tullis-Joyce has proved she can be a foundation for a top side. Now she has to show she can be the one the U.S. build from as well.
Yohannes Steps Into the Space Heaps Left Behind
When Lindsey Heaps left for Denver Summit, OL Lyonnes lost more than a name on the team sheet. They lost one of their most experienced midfield anchors — a player who could slow the game down, connect phases, and offer calm between defense and attack.
Into that space steps 19-year-old phenom Yohannes.
She already looks built for it. Technically gifted, with outstanding vision and the ability to keep the ball moving under pressure, Yohannes has the profile of a midfielder who can dictate tempo rather than simply survive it.
Her first season in Lyon was anything but tentative. She scored six goals across all competitions, including two in the Champions League, and was named UEFA Women’s Champions League Revelation of the Season. She often shone brightest when paired with Heaps, the two forming a balanced partnership in the middle.
Now, without the USWNT captain beside her, Yohannes may need to become more assertive, more vocal, more central to everything Lyon do. She has the passing range to take on more responsibility, but she will not be alone in that engine room. With Melchie Dumornay, Korbin Albert, Damaris Egurrola and Ingrid Syrstad Engen also in midfield, Lyon are stacked with options and variety. Yohannes does not need to be a traditional do-everything No. 8 — she just needs to be herself, at a higher volume.
She is already firmly in the conversation for the USWNT’s 2027 Women’s World Cup squad. Despite her age, she looks like the kind of midfielder who can raise a team’s level the moment she steps onto the pitch, while keeping its rhythm intact.
Across England and Europe, this group of USWNT players is not just surviving the grind of club football — they are shaping title races and redefining roles. The trophies they are chasing this season might end up deciding more than club histories. They could redraw the map of the national team as the next World Cup cycle gathers pace.
