Liverpool FC Women’s team have had quite the tough summer thus far. Having lost captain Niamh Fahey to retirement and vice-captain Taylor Hinds to Arsenal, the club were already facing a need to replace two leaders in the clubhouse.
Now, the club have made an official announcement that the team’s player of the season, a rising star, and perhaps the future of the league itself, is also departing. Olivia Smith will be moving from Merseyside to London as she links up with Taylor Hinds at Arsenal.
This
follows a disappointing and tumultuous season which saw the club part ways with manager Matt Beard. And the summer window leading up to that season saw the departure of other big names including Scouser Missy Bo Kearns. It is, to be generous, not exactly a stellar time for the club.
A minor silver-lining here is that while the club announcement have managed to leave out Smith’s transfer fee, it’s being widely reported that it was for a world record amount, marking the WSL’s first one million pound transfer. Which means that, at the very least, the club have the opportunity to re-build and do so with quality.
Still, it is massively disappointing to see the club decide to move on from a talent like Smith instead of building around her. Given her youth, it feels like a no-brainer to just simply find the pieces to bring the best out of what could be a generational talent.
Time will tell if the club braintrust’s analysis that the fee - and the players that could be brought in with it - do present the best opportunity for the team to be competitive sooner. From this vantage point, though, it feels like the kind of move that will only back up the cynical view of how FSG have treated the women’s side in comparison to the men: an afterthought.
More from liverpooloffside.sbnation.com:
- Newcastle United Reportedly Bid for Liverpool Striker
- Barcelona Reportedly Preparing £132M Coutinho Bid
- Catalan Press Claim Philippe Coutinho has Chosen Barcelona Shirt Number
- Rumour Mongering: Reds In For Roma Keeper Alisson
- Barcelona Claim They’ve Shown Liverpool “Respect” in Coutinho Chase
- Adam Lallana Is Ready To Compete
- Emre Can Expected to Remain at Liverpool Until Summer
