View: Tottenham Women signing Martha Thomas will need to step up in the absence of Beth England
Tottenham Women announced the signing of Scottish striker Martha Thomas from Manchester United on the WSL’s transfer deadline day.
It was a busy deadline day across the WSL on Thursday 14 September, and Tottenham Women completed some business of their own, as they announced via the club’s official website (14 September) that they had completed the signing of Thomas on a two-year deal.
Arriving from Manchester United, the striker is set to wear the number 17 shirt for the club and arrives with plenty of expectation and pressure on her shoulders.
Thomas, who was born in Wiltshire, moved to the United States of America at a young age and quickly fell in love with the beautiful game, representing Charlotte 49ers in college soccer, where she was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
However, her professional career would begin in Europe, as she returned to the continent to play for Le Havre in France during the 2018/19 season. It was West Ham who brought Thomas to the WSL, and she would go on to score 10 goals in 33 games for the club over a two-year period.
Following her time in East London, Thomas headed north, joining Manchester United in 2021, where she scored eight goals in 53 games over another two-year spell, and became a Women’s FA Cup finalist with the Red Devils last season.
Now, she has returned to London, this time to play with Spurs, and arrives arguably in the prime of her career, at the age of 27 and with four years of WSL football under her belt.
As well as her experience of English football, she has plenty of experience internationally, representing Scotland 26 times and scoring 11 goals. In 2020, she won the Pinatar Cup with her nation and was the joint-top scorer at the tournament.
With her new club’s star striker and captain Beth England set for a spell on the sidelines, there is a big opportunity for Thomas to lock down the striker position as her own. In order to do this, she will be under pressure to hit the ground running and make an impression on Spurs Women’s new head coach, Robert Vilahamn.
If she can make a quick impact, she could secure a spot in the team and could perhaps be played alongside England, with the two certainly capable of building a formidable partnership.
Tottenham Women get their WSL season underway with a trip to last season’s champions Chelsea, on 1 October, and tests don’t come more tricky than that, giving Thomas the perfect opportunity to make a big impression early on.
In other Tottenham news, one player who shone on international duty could threaten to derail the club’s momentum when the Premier League returns on Saturday 16 September.