One Tottenham Hotspur Women keeper cometh, another Tottenham Hotspur keeper goeth. The past couple of days have provided a mini-flurry of transfer activity at the goalkeeper position for Spurs Women. First, Tottenham announced yesterday the signing of Norwegian keeper Selma Panengstuen from Martin Ho’s old club SK Brann.
If Brann sounds familiar, it’s not only because that Martin Ho’s
former club, but also because that’s where Spurs signed Norwegian international and Spurs midfielder Signe Gaupset last year. I wish I could tell you a lot about Panengstuen — she’s 23 years old, has one cap for Norway’s national team, and is considered a young keeper on the rise. Martin Ho is quite familiar with her as he coached her soon after she joined Brann a couple of years ago from Kolbotn IL Fotboll.
From the context of what I’m reading about her, it seems like Panengstuen is being brought in, at least for now, as a backup to Dutch starter Lize Kopp, but from comments on Tottenham’s website it’s also clear that Ho is a big fan and think she has the potential to be a top keeper in the WSL.
“Selma is a goalkeeper with outstanding potential, but also someone who already has a very strong foundation to her game. She has real presence, bravery and personality, and she is comfortable playing with the ball, taking responsibility and being part of how a team wants to build and control games. As a goalkeeper, she has the qualities we value highly, shot-stopping ability, courage, communication, athleticism and the mentality to keep improving every single day.
“What makes Selma special is not only her talent, but the way she works. Her attitude, commitment and dedication to her development are genuinely among the best I have seen. She wants to be challenged, she wants detail, and she has the personality to step into demanding environments and keep growing. She will add real value to our goalkeeping department, not only through her quality and potential, but through the standards she brings every day.
“We believe Selma has a very high ceiling, and our role is to give her the support, challenge and environment to keep developing all parts of her game. Having worked with her before, I know exactly the character, humility and drive she will bring to Tottenham. She is a top talent, but more importantly she has the mindset to maximise that talent, and we are delighted she has chosen this club for the next step in her career.”
Signing a keeper however usually means someone else has to go, and that person is Eleanor Heeps. Signed in 2021 as a precocious 18-year-old shot stopper, Heeps had a series of loans but eventually worked her way up to backing up Kop last season. However, the club announced today that Heeps has been sold to Brighton & Hove Albion.
This is a little sad, as Heeps certainly was showing potential as a future starter. However, Brighton could be a very good landing place for her — she’ll be brought in likely to back up and compete with starting Brighton keeper Chiamake Nnadozie, and it’s clear Ho would rather work with a player he knows better like Panengstuen. I think Heeps has what it takes to be a WSL starting keeper in a few years and it appears it’s more likely she’ll have a pathway to that future at Brighton than she does at Tottenham.
Panengstuen is the fifth summer signing for Spurs Women, joining former Arsenal midfielder Victoria Pelova, Kirsty Hanson from Aston Villa, former Wolfsburg defender Caitlin Dijkstra, and Shekiera Martinez from West Ham. And it doesn’t sound like Spurs are done in the window quite yet. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if we see more additions and departures as Martin Ho retools his squad to make a run at a top four spot next season.
