With the Women’s Super League‘s (WSL) transfer deadline day fast approaching in January, Arsenal thought they had pulled off a coup by signing Manchester United forward Alessia Russo for a world-record fee of just under £500,000. Unfortunately for the Gunners, the deal broke down as it was close to being finalized and United managed to keep hold of the England international.
It was a small slice of drama that dominated deadline day in women’s football circles but, with Russo’s contract expiring at the end of the season, it promised to bring more intrigue this June. And that’s just what happened. Along with reports of interest from the NWSL, the 24-year-old’s potential move to Arsenal has been placed back on the agenda as, on June 16, she confirmed she was leaving Man United.
Although Russo’s next club has yet to be officially announced at the time of writing, almost all signs point to North London. But as if losing a bright prospect who had made herself a key part of the United team wasn’t hard enough for the Red Devils, news of Russo’s departure was swiftly followed by that of defender Ona Batlle.
With more eyes on the sport than ever before and a significant increase in both the size of transfer fees and number of deals actually involving fees at all, there is understandably a degree of added scrutiny around what reads as a failure by United. Russo is one of the sport’s brightest stars but is leaving as a free agent.
