Preparations for the new Barclays Women’s Championship season will begin early next month when players across the league report back for pre-season training.
Several clubs have recently announced their end of season retained and released lists and the focus will soon turn towards squad-building for the 2024/2025 campaign.
A handful of Barclays Women’s Championship players are available on free transfers this summer as their contracts come to an end at their respective clubs. WSL Full-Time have identified three free agents who should command plenty of interest in the transfer market.
Claudia Walker (Forward)
Experienced forward Claudia Walker is one of four players to be leaving Birmingham City this summer. The player has enjoyed two spells with the Blues in which she has scored 13 goals in 93 appearances in all competitions.
Walker has spent most of her 10-year senior playing career competing in the Barclays Women’s Super League. She has represented Liverpool, Everton, Birmingham City and West Ham United in the top flight prior to her latest 18-month spell in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
At the age of 27, Walker still has plenty to contribute and with well over 150 games under her belt at senior level, she should not be short of contract offers this summer.
Angela Addison (Forward)
One of the most surprising stories of the close season so far has been Angela Addison’s departure from Charlton Athletic. The 24-year-old has been a near-ever present in her two seasons with the club. Addison made 20 league appearances for The Addicks this season in which she scored three goals. She was a member of a Charlton Athletic side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Barclays Women’s Super League.
Addison is a former Barclays Women’s Championship promotion-winner from her days with Tottenham Hotspur. The player knows exactly what is required to be successful at this level of the game. She would add value to any side that is looking to challenge for the Barclays Women’s Championship title next season.
Lexi Lloyd-Smith (Winger)
Former Arsenal and Chelsea academy star Lexi Lloyd-Smith will be available on a free transfer after her Southampton departure was confirmed earlier today. The player has spent two years with The Saints in which she has made 33 appearances for the club in the Barclays Women’s Championship and scored two goals.
Lloyd-Smith is an exciting wide player with bags of skill and pace to burn and there is undoubtedly much more to come from her in the professional game. She is a player that will get fans off their seats and she can terrify opposition defenders. It is fair to say that many Southampton fans are sorry to see her go this summer. One club is going to grab themselves a bargain in the transfer window with Lloyd-Smith being one of the most exciting young players in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
The 2024/2025 Barclays Women’s Championship season is scheduled to start on the weekend of 7/8 September 2024.