Mary Earps Joins London City Lionesses: A Bold Move in the WSL

Mary Earps is back in the WSL – but not where anyone expected.

The former England No 1 has signed a two-year deal with London City Lionesses, joining on July 1 when her contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires. At 33, with a World Cup final and a European title behind her, she is walking into a club that has only just arrived at the top table and is now trying to flip it over.

This is not a gentle glide toward retirement. It’s a statement.

A heavyweight walks into an upstart

Earps returns to England two years after leaving Manchester United, where she became a pillar of the club’s rise. Across five seasons at Old Trafford she made 102 appearances and kept 45 clean sheets, numbers that helped define United’s early WSL era and turned her into one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the game.

Then came the twist. Last summer she stepped away from international football in a shock move, just five weeks before the Euros, after losing her starting spot to Hannah Hampton. For a player who had been central to England’s Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the World Cup final a year later, it felt like a brutal gear change.

Earps clearly doesn’t see it as an ending.

"I'm over the moon to join this club and I'm really looking forward to it," she said. "I feel the club aligns with what I stand for. I can't wait to get started and to get down to business."

The choice of club underlines the point. London City are not a safe, established powerhouse. They were promoted to the WSL for the first time last season and finished sixth. Respectable. Not yet disruptive. Earps is betting on that changing quickly.

London City’s big swing

London City have no intention of playing the grateful newcomer. Their recruitment drive has been aggressive and unapologetic, with serious interest in Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas underlining just how far they are prepared to push.

It helps when your owner is Michele Kang, whose investment has turned the club into one of the league’s most intriguing projects. A new training facility is on the way. The wage bill is rising. The ambition is obvious.

Earps has bought into that vision.

"The club's values represent what I want to represent and they are passionate about what I want to achieve and change the game in a positive way," she said. "All the conversations have been really positive and every time I spoke with the club I wanted to hear more.

"The vision and ambition, including the new training facility, is incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing that develop. It shows what our owner, Michele, and everyone at the club want to do in terms of really going for it.

"It's about putting a marker down and saying we want to be competitive in a short space of time."

Those words matter. This is a player who could have waited, chosen comfort, picked a superclub. Instead she has aligned herself with a project that is still being built, with all the risk that entails.

Fixing the weakest link

For all the excitement around London City’s attack and their star-chasing recruitment, the numbers from last season show where the real work lies. Eder Maestre’s side conceded 35 goals, more than the league average of 32. For a team with top-four ambitions, that is a red flag.

Earps walks straight into that problem.

She will share a goalkeeping unit with Elene Lete, who impressed last season with sharp saves and big interventions. Earps is not arriving to crush competition but to raise standards.

"I'm looking forward to working alongside Elene and the goalkeeping unit," she said. "Elene made some great saves and interventions last season. Hopefully, we can bounce off each other and work hard and enjoy it."

London City need that blend. Experience and energy. Voice and presence. Someone who has stood in goal on the biggest stages and treated pressure like routine.

“I still have so much left to give”

If there were any doubts about her motivation, Earps addressed them head-on.

"I feel I still have so much left to give to the game, and that's exactly why I chose London City," she said. This is not a farewell tour. It’s a restart.

Her message to supporters carried the same edge of anticipation.

"My message to the fans is that I'm really excited to get started and make some memories together. I can't wait to play in front of you all.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know the players, the style of play and club culture, and trying to give everything I can to help the club achieve its collective goals and be as successful as possible.

"It won't be easy, the WSL is extremely competitive. The team had a brilliant 2025/26 season, finishing mid-table in their first season, now it's about climbing the table and working towards finishing as high as possible."

The challenge is clear. London City want to smash the glass ceiling that has protected the division’s traditional top four. To do that, they need more than flair and famous names. They need resilience, organisation, and a goalkeeper who turns tight games into wins.

Earps has made a career out of exactly that.

Star power, chemistry questions

The wider question hangs over the whole project. How do you make a dressing room full of big names actually work?

The men’s game offers cautionary tales. Superclubs have stacked their squads with stars before and discovered, too late, that chemistry cannot be bought. The image of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe together at PSG, yet somehow never truly in sync, still lingers.

London City are walking a fine line. The cast is becoming star-studded, the expectations heavier with every marquee signing. The upside is obvious: a club barely out of the Championship now sitting at the same table as Europe’s elite in the transfer market. The risk is just as obvious.

What is not in doubt is the scale of this particular addition. Earps instantly upgrades London City’s spine. She brings authority to a back line that leaked too often. She brings a mentality shaped by finals, trophies and scrutiny.

Another coup, another signal of intent. If London City really are serious about breaking the established order, this is exactly the kind of goalkeeper you start with.