Tottenham Hotspur Women have had a lot of ups and downs over the last four years. Eveliina Summanen, Spurs’ 27 year old Finnish defensive midfielder, has been a consistent positive throughout. Now, the club have rewarded her with a new, long-term contract.
Eveliina joined the club in January 2022 and showed immediate potential. Over the years,
she’s featured across all of midfield, taking on a box-to-box role and a more advanced, goalscoring one before eventually settling into defensive midfield. She just recently passed the 100 appearances mark for Spurs Women. She’ll have the opportunity to double it, which can only be a good thing.
Over the years, Eveliina’s grown into a real fan favorite. She’s never afraid to challenge for loose balls or to go to ground doing so, and she seems to have a special talent for riling up opposition. Those of you who have been here for a while will remember the time she got Ella Toone sent off (rightly!!), and was then penalized for “successful deception of a match official,” (whatever that means… yes, I’m still mad about it). She’s also got an incredible talent for striking dead balls, and has scored a number of direct free kicks for Spurs and Finland.
Manager Martin Ho had a lot of nice things to say about Eveliina, too:
“We are delighted that Eveliina has committed her future to the club. She has been a key part of our performances this season, bringing real control, intelligence and consistency to our midfield. Her technical quality in possession, ability to play forward under pressure and tactical understanding of the game give the team stability and direction, while her composure in duels and competitive mindset allow her to influence key moments both with and without the ball.
“What excites us even more is that Ev still has room to grow, and we see clear opportunities to continue developing the all-round impact she can have as she moves into the next phase of her career. Her behaviours every day, the way she trains, prepares and carries herself, and her professionalism and attitude are infectious within the environment. We are very pleased she has chosen to stay with us, and we are excited to continue supporting her progression in the years ahead.”
It’s not clear how long this ‘long-term’ contract is – Spurs Women have once again done the thing where they call something ‘long-term’ without telling us whether that’s two, three, four, or one million years long – but it’s excellent news pretty much no matter what the number is. Eveliina is a rock in our midfield, and I’m excited to watch her excel there for many more years!
