Kyah Simon: why Man Utd Women should swoop for PSV and Matildas star this summer – scout report

The WSL has already seen many comings and goings this summer, with many names being linked with moves to the top flight of English women’s football. One team whose squad has been depleted this summer is Manchester United Women, with four of their forwards from last season (Tobin Heath, Christen Press, Jessica Sigsworth and Jane Ross) leaving the club. Another, Lauren James, is also reportedly set to depart, having been heavily linked with a move to league champions Chelsea Women, so there is a definite need for attacking signings at Leigh Sports Village.

One player rumoured to interest them is experienced Australia international Kyah Simon, who currently plays for PSV Vrouwen in the Eredivisie Vrouwen. However, the question is if she is what Manchester United need. In this tactical analysis, we will look in greater detail at how she would fit into their tactics, focusing on her ability to operate in different roles, find space around the pitch and her confidence in possession.

Playing in different roles

The first aspect of her play to look at in this analysis is her versatility, filling different roles as required by her team.

Here, Kyah Simon is in a wider position on the pitch, meaning that teammate and Lyon Feminin midfielder Ellie Carpenter now has two different ways of transferring the ball behind the Denmark defence. She can either pass to Simon, who can then make a run behind the defence, or wait for Denmark to stretch out towards Simon, before playing through the gap that will inevitably appear. Therefore, the first point to make about Simon’s positioning is that she gives her team different options, able to play in different systems, and this versatility and adaptability makes her the type of player that managers like.

This is something that Manchester United will really benefit from if they bring her to the club this summer, because Tobin Heath and Christen Press tended to occupy the wider attacking positions last season. However, now they have moved back to the USA, Manchester United only have former Bayern Munich winger Leah Galton and Scotland forward Kirsty Hanson as options for those roles, so Simon will give them another player who can slot into those tactics if needed. However, her crossing accuracy of 34.3% per game, expected assists (xA) value of 0.23 and actual assist rate of 0.2 imply that getting balls into the box from the wings is not her biggest strength.