Ambitious owners and financial growth have allowed WSL and WSL2 clubs to assert dominance in the transfer market
“If anyone didn’t take our ambition seriously, I hope they really do after this window, because it shows what we’re pushing for.”
Amy Merricks was answering a question about Birmingham City breaking the second-tier transfer record to sign Wilma Leidhammar from Norrköping, but the head coach’s words could easily sum up the English January transfer window as a whole, as teams in the Women’s Super League, and in WSL2, demonstrate where the financial power lies in the women’s game.
Birmingham are understood to have paid about €315,000 (£273,000) to sign the attacking midfielder. As recently as the summer of 2022, this would have been a world-record fee. In the three-and-a-half years since, valuations for women’s players have risen sharply but, even in January 2026’s market, this is still a hugely significant level of investment in a young player. It is a statement signing for four reasons.
First, it exemplifies Birmingham’s ambitions in a week when their men’s side paid a reported £6m fee to sign the Danish striker August Priske. Their American owners crave promotion for both teams. Second, it demonstrates the need for WSL2 clubs to invest in this transfer window, with an extra promotion spot on the line for one season only. Third, it comes in a week when a report showed the revenues at Europe’s leading women’s clubs rose by an average of 35% last year. And last, but most not least, it suggests Leidhammar is a top prospect.
