Atlético Madrid rejected a bid of more than £500,000 from Manchester City for the Spain midfielder Fiamma Benítez on the Women’s Super League’s transfer deadline day, the Guardian can reveal. The WSL champions are understood to have tried hard to add attacking-midfielder reinforcements before the English summer window closed on Thursday at 11pm BST, largely in light of news that their No 10 Vivianne Miedema could be out for at least the rest of 2026 with a knee injury. However, Atlético are understood to view Benítez as a key player and a future national team star and were not prepared to let the 22-year-old go.
In 2022 Benítez helped Spain win the Under-19 Euros and Under-20 Women’s World Cup and she helped her country win the 2024 Women’s Nations League. City then made an even later move for Everton’s Spain international Ornella Vignola, who can play in midfield or on the wing. A bid of about £400,000 is understood to have been turned down by Everton, largely because they felt they would not have time to source a suitable replacement but also because of Vignola’s importance to Scott Phelan’s side.
It was also widely reported that City attempted to bring in the Nigeria midfielder Jennifer Echegini from Paris Saint-Germain, but multiple sources have told the Guardian that PSG made clear they were not willing to sell the 25-year-old. PSG had agreed to sell the France defender Élisa De Almeida to Arsenal for a fee believed to be just over £500,000, and they were not prepared to lose two key players in one day. City completed one deadline-day deal, bringing in England’s Anna Moorhouse on loan from Orlando Pride until the end of January, adding good-quality depth to their goalkeeping ranks after Khiara Keating moved to Liverpool on a free in July.
Although City were left scrambling unsuccessfully for a midfielder on Thursday, it was a positive summer for the club, not least because they began with their most important deal, retaining the services of the WSL’s Golden Boot winner Khadija Shaw with a lucrative new contract. Andrée Jeglertz’s side begin their title defence at home to promoted Birmingham on Sunday. Discussing Miedema’s injuries on Friday, Jeglertz said: “It’s tough for her and of course for us, but her determination is to get back as quickly as possible.
We need to keep assessing from week to week but we are fully aware that she will be out for this fall and then we will see where we are later this fall but we don’t expect her back in the coming weeks.” West Ham have confirmed the signing of the Japan legend Saki Kumagai from London City Lionesses on a one-year deal, a move revealed by the Guardian on Thursday. The 35-year-old, who scored the winning penalty for Japan in the 2011 Women’s World Cup final, is West Ham’s 10th summer signing. Meanwhile, Arsenal will face both of last season’s Women’s Champions League finalists during this season’s league phase after receiving the trickiest-looking draw of the three English sides involved.
Renée Slegers’s team, who won the Champions League in 2025, will travel to holders Barcelona and host runners-up OL Lyonnes as their two pot-one opponents. Chelsea travel to OL Lyonnes, Sonia Bompastor’s former side, and also host Paris Saint-Germain and Roma. City, who were in pot three, were handed home matches against PSG and Real Madrid, as well as a trip to Bayern Munich.
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