My Cato Scouting Reporting At IFK Norrköping Dam: Crystal Palace Womens’s New Swedish Midfield Star

With the start of the new 2024/25 WSL season on the horizon and the transfer deadline fast approaching, the 12 teams in the English women’s top flight are frantically striving to secure key targets to begin the campaign in the best possible way.

One side who will be especially eager to impress is Crystal Palace Women.

They are embarking upon their maiden WSL campaign and hoping to do what Bristol City Women failed to do last time out and avoid an immediate return to the Women’s Championship.

As the summer has gone on, their transfer business has been conducted with that firmly in mind, and they have made some powerful additions to their ranks.

Experienced Denmark and former Everton Women defender Katrine Veje, Ajax Vrouwen wide player Ashleigh Weerden, and former Leicester City Women midfielder Josie Green are among those to have joined the VBS Community Stadium outfit.

However, they have been looking to add not only higher-profile names but also a few as-yet-unknown players who could have just as big a part in their fortunes.

One of those is My Cato, a Swedish midfielder who has joined them from Damallsvenskan side Norrköping Dam, where she had been the captain.

Described by her new employers as a physical but creative player, she has the potential to become a critical asset to them.

This tactical analysis will examine why she could be the perfect fit for Crystal Palace’s game plan as the campaign progresses.

My Cato Patrolling The Midfield

Whenever I watch My Cato play, I am not doubting her versatility.

As her time at the club went on, Norrköping came to rely on her ability to assist in defensive, midfield, and attacking situations.

Whilst Crystal Palace could also give her a similarly free-flowing role in some matches, it seems likely that she will be initially tasked with staying inside the central third.

They will heavily rely on her ability to facilitate passing sequences and limit the damage that opposing sides can inflict when attempting to break forward.

She has shown particular strength in the latter, constantly recognising threats and acting to ensure that opposing sides cannot use the spaces available to them.

In this case, that is shown through her identifying the danger that IFK Linköping Dam’s Michelle De Jongh poses.

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