Kirsty Hanson: Tottenham's Key Signing for WSL Ambitions

Kirsty Hanson’s name did not dominate the summer transfer headlines. It probably should have.

While the Women’s Super League welcomed a wave of overseas stars, Tottenham quietly moved for one of last season’s most ruthless finishers, prising Hanson from Aston Villa in a deal that could reshape their attack.

This is not a speculative punt. It’s a calculated grab for proven WSL firepower.

From underused to unstoppable

Hanson’s surge has been years in the making, not a one-season wonder.

Her career flickered into life at Manchester United, where she helped lay the foundations of the club’s professional women’s side. Then came the stall. Minutes dried up, confidence dipped, and a player built on intensity and edge found herself short of rhythm.

Villa changed that.

Initially signed on loan in 2022, she arrived in Birmingham needing a reset. She left as one of the league’s most dangerous forwards. Across 100 appearances for Villa, she scored 26 goals and collected two player-of-the-season awards, rebuilding both her numbers and her belief.

“I've got to thank Villa so much. They know that I left on good terms. I really enjoyed my time,” she told BBC Sport. “Everyone there helped me boost my confidence again. Hopefully, I can just build on that now, but I'm not putting pressure on myself.”

Last season, everything clicked. Hanson finished as the WSL’s third-highest scorer with 12 goals in 22 games, a remarkable return in a Villa side that laboured to ninth. Only Khadija Shaw and Alessia Russo found the net more often.

She didn’t just chip in. She carried them.

Hanson scored 43% of Villa’s league goals, posted the best shots-on-target ratio (50%) among the division’s top five scorers, and still found time to create. Only two team-mates carved out more chances than her 16, and she registered the most touches in the opposition box for the club. Add in her defensive work — among the leading performers in her position for tackles and interceptions — and you get the profile Tottenham crave: a forward who does everything, relentlessly.

Why Spurs, why now?

So why leave a team where she was the focal point?

“It was obviously a very tough decision to leave Villa but just looking at Spurs, you could see their ambition and each season they have been improving,” she said. One appointment, in particular, caught her eye. “When they appointed Martin [Ho] as manager, I think that was a big statement because he is one of the best coaches I've worked with.”

Hanson knows exactly what she is walking into. Ho was assistant at Manchester United between 2020 and 2023 and played a key role in her development there. Now, as Tottenham head coach, he made her a priority signing. The club backed him, securing the Scotland international for an undisclosed fee.

“I know he gets the best out of me with the detail he puts in. I really think that will push me further on in my career,” she said.

This is not just a reunion. It’s a bet that the coach who once helped unlock her game can take her to an even higher level in north London.

A brutal pre-season and a clear message

Tottenham finished fifth last term. Respectable, but not enough for a club that now talks openly about the top three and the Women’s Champions League.

Their recruitment reflects that ambition. Alongside Hanson, Spurs have added West Ham’s top scorer Shekiera Martinez, France defender Alice Sombath from Lyon and creative midfielder Victoria Pelova from Arsenal. These are not depth signings. They are statements.

The response on the training pitch has been equally sharp.

“Training's been really tough. It was probably one of the toughest pre-seasons I've done so far,” Hanson admitted. “Martin is challenging us, trying to push us to our limits. That's what I really wanted, because I needed a challenge. I don't just want to be signed because they think I'm good, I want them to improve me.”

The message is clear: no one walks into this XI. Not even last season’s third-top scorer in the league.

Competition, criticism and a different kind of leader

Hanson arrives as a proven WSL forward, but she refuses to see herself as established royalty.

“I'm definitely comfortable [in the WSL] now but I still don't see myself as one of the best. I'm very critical of myself,” she said. “It's going to be tough. I'm not expecting anything. My main aim is just to be better because I've got so many levels to go to. Martin knows that as well.”

She is stepping into a squad stacked with attacking talent and technical quality. That excites her rather than intimidates her.

“I knew the level of players that were here. I'm just so excited to learn from them. I'm also here to help others, because that's what I've done at every club.”

Her contribution will not be measured solely in goals. Hanson talks about maturity, about game intelligence, about calming others when the tempo spikes.

“I know what to do at different points in the game. I know how to calm players down,” she said. “Previously when I worked with Martin, I was younger and I wouldn't have been able to cope with that as much. But now I've definitely matured a lot.”

Off the pitch, she has a degree in sports coaching and a clear sense of how to use it. On it, she leans on something more primal.

“I might not be the most talented but I've got a lot of fight and hunger in me. I literally run through a brick wall for my team. Hopefully I've showed them that.”

The quiet signing with loud potential

Tottenham open their WSL campaign at home to West Ham on 6 September. By then, the bigger-name imports across the league will have dominated the build-up, the graphics, the hype.

Hanson is used to working in the shadows. She was not the headline act at United. She arrived at Villa on loan, low on confidence. She still questions whether she belongs among the league’s elite.

But the numbers say she does. The performances say she does. And now, Spurs are banking on the idea that a player who dragged a mid-table side forward can help launch an ambitious one into the Champions League places.

If that happens, this understated move will not stay under the radar for long.