Layla Drury Set to Sign Historic Pro Deal with Manchester United Women
Manchester United’s academy has its new standard-bearer. Layla Drury, already the club’s youngest ever player and goalscorer, is set to become the youngest footballer to sign a professional contract with the women’s side.
She is 17. She has barely finished her first season in senior football. Yet United are ready to fast‑track her straight into full-time first‑team life next season.
The forward announced herself in January, thrown into an FA Cup tie against Burnley and responding like she had been waiting her whole life for the moment. She didn’t just make her debut in that 5-0 win – she scored in it, instantly writing her name into the club’s record books as Manchester United Women’s youngest goalscorer.
That appearance came at 16 years and 220 days, nudging aside a notable name. Lauren James had held the record since 2018; Drury took it before she had even turned 17.
The impact did not stop there. Still only 16 for most of the campaign, Drury made seven senior appearances across all competitions last season, including five substitute outings in the WSL. Each cameo underlined why the club see her as central to their long‑term plans rather than a fleeting academy story.
United’s intention is clear: Drury will be with the first team on a full‑time basis next season. No half measures, no gentle easing back into youth football. For a club that has spoken often about building a sustainable women’s side, this is what that vision looks like in practice – a homegrown talent moving from academy prospect to professional contract before her 18th birthday.
She will be the first to do so. No player has previously signed a professional deal with United Women at such a young age, another marker of the trust being placed in her development.
Drury’s rise has unfolded on the international stage too. Born in Wales, she represented both Wales and England at youth level before switching her allegiance to England in February. That decision, and her rapid elevation at club level, only sharpen the sense that United are nurturing one of the most closely watched young forwards in the domestic game.
Inside the club, her trajectory is viewed as a flagship success for the academy structure. United are determined to produce more of their own players, not just to save on transfer fees but to build a squad with a clear identity and pathway. Drury’s story – from youth ranks to records and now a professional deal before adulthood – is the model they want to repeat.
Anyomi heads to London City Lionesses
On a busy day for women’s football, another attacking move turned heads elsewhere in the WSL. London City Lionesses have secured the signing of Germany forward Nicole Anyomi on a four-year contract after the end of her deal at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Anyomi arrives with serious pedigree. She scored 60 goals in 130 games for Frankfurt and featured for Germany at Euro 2022, where the national side reached the final against England at Wembley.
Speaking to London City Lionesses’ club media, she underlined why this move matters to her, describing a long‑held ambition to play abroad and the significance of the project being built at the WSL club.
For United, the story is about a teenager stepping into history. For London City Lionesses, it is a proven international sharpening their attack. Different stages of a career, the same question hanging in the air: how far can they take these teams in the seasons to come?
