Women’s football received another massive boost this summer when it was revealed that Alex Morgan would be joining Tottenham Hotspur. The 31-year old Californian had earned global fame through her heroics in helping the United States women’s football team win the FIFA Womens’ World Cup in 2019. Her arrival in London will see her joining Tottenham on a contract that runs from September to December.
However, everything hasn’t gone as planned. This is because it has just been revealed that Morgan’s Tottenham debut will be delayed by a number of weeks. The American star was due to make her Spurs debut in a North London derby against Arsenal last week. But it seems as though Morgan still has a few fitness issues to work on.
The striker has yet to play a competitive football match in 2020. She came to Tottenham after the National Women’s Soccer League season in the US was postponed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was hoped that some game time with Tottenham would help Morgan get the necessary match fitness to be part of the national team’s squad for next year’s Olympic Games.
Morgan has also been struggling with recuperating after giving birth to her daughter in spring. She admitted that her ‘touch is all over the place’ as a result of the lack of game time. Plus the forward stated that she was the ‘slowest on the pitch’ in recent Tottenham training sessions.
While Morgan may still be absent from the pitch, her arrival has attracted no shortage of attention from the UK football press. Such attention is understandable as Morgan is a two-time World Cup winner and without doubt the highest profile player to ever come to the WSL.
It will be interesting to see whether Morgan has what it takes to transform Tottenham’ fortunes in the WSL. The North London team are still winless after their first five games and these have included a particularly embarrassing 6-1 defeat against Arsenal. All of which means that many of the bookmakers featured at resources like www.captaingambling.com/sports-betting/ will be expecting Morgan to make a big impression when she’s finally fit enough to play.
While Spurs’ results on the pitch have left much to be desired, there are still indications that things could be improving. In particular it’s Morgan’s Orlando Pride teammate Alanna Kennedy who has really started making things exciting at Tottenham. Kennedy also recently arrived at Tottenham on a loan deal, and she looks to provide plenty of stability in the midfield. Nowhere was this better seen that in Spurs’ recent performance against Manchester United. While Tottenham lost the match 1-0, Kennedy managed to give her team a fighting chance.
Manchester United’s win was partly down to the arrival of their own US footballing stars. The Red Devils made the wise move to sign Tobin Heath and Christen Press. The pair has already made a big impact in getting Manchester United up to a very credible third place in the WSL table.
Other American arrivals in the WSL have included Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis at Manchester City. All of these players have jumped across the pond to try and play regular football in England. But it has also served as validation for just how far the WSL has come in recent years. Both Tottenham and Manchester United are just getting started in their women’s football projects, but the arrival of such legendary names means that the WSL is certainly on the rise.
