Fresh Stars on the Horizon: Five NWSL newcomers poised for glory in 2024 – scout report

The 2024 edition of NWSL will kick off a week later, and it already promises to guarantee a lot of entertainment, competitiveness, and fierce competition between the participating teams, whether during the regular season or in the playoff phase. Most clubs have been active during this pre-season as they were keen to make the necessary transfers during the latest transfer window to prepare for the significant challenges ahead.

Gotham FC will be doing their best to preserve their 2023 NWSL title, a mission that will surely not be easy for them as they will be challenged by numerous reinforced squads such as those of Portland Thorns, San Diego Wave, Kansas City Current, Racing Louisville and more. Also, Bay FC and Utah Royals will be making their first-ever participation in NWSL, and they have been preparing extensively to compete seriously with the rest of the teams as they also made some significant signings during the transfer window.

As a result, these two teams should not be underestimated, and all teams will have to be better prepared, especially from a defensive perspective, compared to last season so as to concede fewer goals this season. The only team that conceded fewer goals than the number of games played last season was Houston Dash, with 18 goals conceded in 22 games. All the rest conceded 22 or more goals in 22 games, with the Chicago Red Stars having conceded the highest number of goals that season.

In order to perform better, concede less and score more goals per game, most of the teams made significant signings for the 2024 season. And in this tactical analysis and scout report, we have decided to pick five new signings to watch this season. The choice for the five players was made based on the potential impact of these players on their respective teams’ tactics, their actual footballing value and their key abilities, which we believe can make a difference for the teams who made the signings.

We will start by exploring Bia Zaneratto’s possible addition to Kansas City Current, Mya Jones’s abilities and how she can represent a valuable signing for San Diego Wave, how Asisat Oshoala can bring her rich European experience (knowing that she played at Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona previously) to Bay FC and put her excellent attacking abilities at the service of her new team. Then, the analysis will focus on Angharad James’s possible midfield addition to Seattle Reign FC by studying the former Tottenham Hotspur player’s midfield attributes.

The article will then tackle former Chelsea’s Jessie Fleming’s expected contribution to Portland Thorns’s midfield and how she can help her team win the NWSL title again following the failure of last season.

Bia Zaneratto’s possible addition to Kansas City Current

In order to study Zaneratto’s possible attacking addition to Kansas City Current, it is fundamental to focus on the players main attacking traits, especially her shooting and goalscoring abilities, plus how she uses her body inside the box and how she moves with and without the ball in that area.

Zaneratto has some outstanding physical abilities that allow her to shine inside the box and disturb any defence since she knows how to exploit her physical strength in a way that helps her finish actions well while resisting the defenders’ disturbance.

With an xG equal to 0.42 and a number of goals reaching 0.45 per match, Zaneratto is considered one of the most clinical Brazilians on the women’s football scene at the moment. Her addition to Kansas City Current will undoubtedly be noticeable from day one.

Zaneratto shoots a minimum average of three shots per game, knowing her shots are often powerful and well-oriented. Being a left-footed striker who has already been positioned as an inverted right winger, an advanced playmaker, and a second striker would surely guarantee many attacking solutions for Kansas City Current, depending on the game and the head coach’s game plan.

More importantly, she is a player who uses her body very effectively when pressing high on defenders and resisting their disturbance. This picture highlights her great endurance and how she intercepted the ball from a defender before running and protecting it while being disturbed. In addition to that, she was also able to lob the ball past the goalkeeper and another opposing defender, which highlights Zaneratto’s finishing intelligence and resistance to physical pressure at the same time.

In addition, Zaneratto can represent a solid set-piece weapon for her new team as she has already scored many free-kicks for Brazil previously and can shoot them with power and precision, exploiting her outstanding left-foot accuracy and power. This example confirms Zaneratto’s free-kick-taking abilities and shows how she could direct her powerful shot towards a “dead angle”, where the goalkeeper could not be reactive enough to the speed of the shot.

Mo