The Washington Spirit has completed the signing of England defender Esme Morgan from Manchester City.
Morgan has signed a four-year deal to keep her at the National Women’s Soccer League side until the end of the 2027 season.
The Spirit has confirmed the move will involve a transfer fee as the 23-year-old had one year remaining on her Manchester City contract.
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Morgan’s City departure was confirmed in May, with The Athletic reporting she was due to join the Spirit.
The move means Morgan will play under new Spirit manager Jonatan Giraldez, whose Barcelona side beat Lyon to win the Champions League last month.
“I wanted to join the Spirit because they have the ambition and tools to be the best team in the NWSL, and trying to achieve that will be a great but enjoyable challenge,” said Morgan.
“On an individual level too, the opportunity to work under Jonatan (Giraldez), one of the world’s best coaches, is really exciting and I look forward to learning from him and pushing myself to become the best player I can be, hopefully helping the team to success.”
Morgan, who can operate at full-back or centre-back, lacked game time under manager Gareth Taylor at City last season, starting just five league matches compared to the 15 she started the year before.
She missed the majority of the 2021-22 season after she fractured her leg but Sarina Wiegman handed her her international debut in October 2022 before naming her as an unused substitute at the 2023 World Cup.
Having joined City’s academy at the age of 14, Morgan made her first team debut under now-New York City FC manager Nick Cushing two years later and signed her first professional contract four years ago.
“Esme is an exceptional talent and we’re thrilled to add her to this talented Spirit roster,” said president of soccer operations/general manager Mark Krikorian. “We expect the success she’s had at the highest level in England to translate well as she joins the most competitive league in women’s soccer.”
The Spirit is third in the NWSL after winning nine of its opening 12 matches of the 2024 season.
(Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
