LONDON – Alex Morgan hailed the pulling power of England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) to attract top talent and the lure of going for another Olympic gold medal with the USA as the reasons for making the move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Morgan is the latest American World Cup winner to move to England for the 2020/21 season.
The 31-year-old could face international teammates Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle when Tottenham Hotspur faces Manchester City on Sunday, while Tobin Heath and Christen Press have joined Manchester United.
“I joined Spurs because I feel like the WSL has done such a great job bringing over such great talent and competing as one of the best leagues in the world,” said Morgan, who is expected to make her debut as a substitute against City.
Morgan is regarded as one of the world’s best players having scored 107 goals in 169 appearances for her country, winning the World Cup in 2015 and 2019 plus Olympic gold in 2012.
However, she has not played since giving birth to her first child in May.
And she highlighted the chance to play regular games ahead of the Olympics next year as a major draw to make the move across the Atlantic.
“I knew after pregnancy I needed to get as many games as possible leading into 2021 with an Olympics hopefully next year,” added Morgan.
“I wanted to put myself in the best position possible to get fit and ready for that. I thought competing in one of the best leagues in the world that started back up after lockdown was the best option for me.”
United and Tottenham are in their second season in the WSL and have invested with the aim of ending the dominance enjoyed by Arsenal, Chelsea and City in recent years.
Morgan had a short spell with Lyon, the dominant force of the European women’s game in 2017, but believes the WSL will be a greater challenge due to the depth of talent in England.
“We are not seeing just Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City dominate we are seeing Manchester United, Spurs come up to the first division too.”
“There are a lot of clubs putting in a lot of resources to make the club as competitive as possible and that’s what I really respect about this league.”
“There is not one match you can put in your second team or take a break on. I thought in France you were able to do that and have a bit of rotation in our club, but here it is extremely competitive.” – AFP, October 3, 2020
