Mary Earps Joins London City Lionesses: A Game-Changer for WSL

Mary Earps is coming home. Not to Manchester United, not to the England goal, but to a project determined to rattle the established order of the Women’s Super League.

London City Lionesses have landed one of the game’s defining modern goalkeepers on a two-year deal, prising the 33-year-old away from Paris St‑Germain and planting a serious marker in the WSL.

This is not a sentimental lap of honour. Earps is signing up for a fight.

A statement move from a rising club

London City finished sixth in their debut WSL campaign in 2025-26. Respectable. Solid. Not enough for owner Michele Kang.

Now comes the escalation.

Earps arrives after two seasons in France, where she made 22 league appearances this term and kept 12 clean sheets as PSG finished third, 13 points behind Lyon. Those numbers still speak of a goalkeeper operating at an elite level, commanding a back line in a league where mistakes are punished ruthlessly.

Her decision to swap a Champions League regular for an ambitious London side tells you plenty about the Lionesses’ intent. They are not simply aiming to survive. They are trying to accelerate.

“I feel the club aligns with what I stand for. I can't wait to get started and to get down to business,” Earps said, her words echoing the tone of a player who has no interest in easing into the twilight of her career.

Earps the standard-bearer

Two-time Fifa Best Goalkeeper of the Year. The backbone of England’s Euro 2022 triumph. A central figure in the run to the 2023 World Cup final. A first major club trophy with Manchester United in 2024, lifting the Women’s FA Cup. The mural outside Old Trafford is not nostalgia; it is recognition.

Earps’ international retirement in 2025 closed one chapter but did not dim her presence. Her book, released in November, triggered weeks of debate and dominated headlines, underlining her influence far beyond the penalty area. She has become one of the most recognisable and outspoken figures in the English game.

Yet on her return to Old Trafford in the Women’s Champions League earlier this season, the reaction cut through the noise. A warm applause from the United support at full-time, an acknowledgement of what she gave the club and what she helped build. The mural, the ovation, the honours – they follow her into this new dressing room.

London City are not just signing a goalkeeper. They are signing a standard.

“The club's values represent what I want to represent and they are passionate about what I want to achieve,” she said. “All the conversations have been really positive and every time I spoke with the club I wanted to hear more.”

The Kang project gathers pace

Kang’s backing has already altered the Lionesses’ trajectory. The next phase is about profile and power.

The club is not hiding its ambition in this transfer window. As Earps heads back to England, London City are set to sign Spain defender Mapi Leon and remain in talks with two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas after her departure from Barcelona. Those are the sort of names usually linked with the traditional giants, not a second-year WSL outfit.

Inside the training ground, the message is clear: this is not a gentle build. It is a push.

“The vision and ambition, including the new training facility, is incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing that develop,” Earps said. “It shows what our owner Michele [Kang] and everyone at the club want to do in terms of really going for it.

“It's about putting a marker down and saying we want to be competitive in a short space of time.”

A new facility, marquee signings, a spine built around proven winners – the architecture of a challenger is taking shape.

No illusions about the WSL

Earps knows exactly what she is walking into. Five years at Manchester United, more than 100 appearances, and the grind of trying to turn a growing club into a trophy-winning side have left their mark. The WSL is unforgiving. There are no shortcuts.

“I feel I still have so much left to give to the game and that's exactly why I chose London City,” she said. “It won't be easy – the WSL is extremely competitive. The team had a brilliant 2025-26 season finishing mid-table in their first season, now it's about climbing the table and working towards finishing as high as possible.”

That is the challenge: transform a mid-table debut into something sharper, more dangerous. Earps will be the last line of defence, but also one of the loudest voices, driving standards from the back.

The Lionesses have made their move. They have their leader in goal, a new facility on the way, and a transfer strategy aimed squarely at the top. The question now is simple: how quickly can this project crash the WSL’s established hierarchy?