By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-02 14:36:57 | Updated at 2026-09-02 16:44:11
2 hours ago
Eva Olid inherits a side in transition. With experienced figures departing and a new emphasis on youth development emerging, can Manchester United’s evolving model keep them competitive at the top end of the WSL?
Manchester United enter the new Women’s Super League looking considerably different after finishing fourth for the first time since the 2021-22 season, but perhaps the most important change isn’t who has left. It’s what the club appears to be trying to become.
The timing of Marc Skinner’s departure only added to the upheaval. After more than five years in charge – and as comfortably the WSL’s longest-serving manager at the time – he left by mutual consent just weeks before the new campaign.
Skinner’s tenure brought progress, delivering Champions League qualification in two seasons and an FA Cup triumph in 2024.
There were signs of a competitive edge last season, too. United were the only side in the WSL to win every match in which they scored first (9/9), while only Tottenham (12) and London City Lionesses (10) recovered more points from losing positions than their eight.
Yet, he rarely escaped scrutiny, with debate around United’s ambitions often extending well beyond the manager himself.
Therefore, any assessment of Skinner’s spell must come with important context. According to the latest published WSL accounts, the Red Devils were operating with a playing budget little more than a third of Chelsea’s and around half that of Arsenal.
That financial reality will not disappear with the arrival of new manager, Eva Olid.
Instead, United appear to be leaning further into a different model: building sustainably, developing young talent and creating a clearer pathway from the academy into the first team.
It is an approach that feels distinctly familiar at the club, but the question now is whether they can make the ‘United way’ work on the women’s side of the club.
A New Manager For a New Model
If United are serious about their new approach, Olid looks well suited to the task.
Olid joins having taken Hearts from the foot of the SWPL to a first league title in 2025-26. Crucially, she achieved that success with the youngest squad in the division.
With an average age of under 24, Hearts showed that Olid could do more than simply hand opportunities to young players; she could build a successful team around them.
That could prove important at United because, behind many of the established names who have departed this summer, there is already a crop of young talent pushing for greater involvement, despite only five current squad members aged 23 or under featuring in the WSL last season.
Striker Layla Drury may be the most exciting of them. The 17-year-old became the youngest player in United’s history to sign a professional contract, having already become their youngest goalscorer with her FA Cup strike against Burnley in January earlier this year.
Her WSL exposure remains extremely limited, however, amounting to just 47 minutes across five appearances last season, but there were glimpses of what she could offer.
Drury averaged 1.9 chances created per 90, bettered among United players only by the now-departed Leah Galton (2.0), while nobody at the club averaged more than her 11.5 recoveries per 90.
And Drury isn’t alone. Eighteen-year-old Jessica Anderson has already made her WSL debut, while Scarlett Hill returns after spending last season on loan at Sheffield United.
The signing ofEllen Wangerheim from Hammarby in January was also indicative of the direction United appear to be heading. The Swedish forward scored 17 goals and provided eight assists in the 2025 Damallsvenskan season, ranking second across the board for both metrics, though she is still waiting to make a significant impact after featuring just eight times for the Red Devils.
Then there is Emma Watson, still only 20, whose development was disrupted by the ACL injury she suffered on Scotland duty in 2023 but who may now be ready for a breakthrough campaign.
After making her United senior debut in 2024, Watson spent time on loan with Crystal Palace in 2025-26, before moving to Tigres in Mexico, where she featured 15 times, scored twice, assisted three goals and won the Liga MX Apertura title.
None of these players should be expected to replace the experience United have lost overnight, but perhaps that misses the point.
United’s summer should not be judged solely by the names heading through the exit door or the transfer fees spent replacing them. Olid’s appointment suggests there may be another route: giving the next generation a genuine opportunity to become part of the answer.
Adding Experience Around Youth
United aren’t relying on their academy alone, with their recruitment this summer adding experience, versatility and potential around an emerging young core.
Andrea Medina, still only 22, joins from Atlético Madrid, capable of operating at both left-back and centre-back, while Rebeca Bernal adds further defensive flexibility following her move from Washington Spirit.
Medina joins after an impressive 2025-26 Liga F campaign in which she recorded 206 defensive contributions, a total bettered by only two WSL players: Ashleigh Neville (220) and Ruby Mace (247).
Her influence extended well beyond her defensive work. Across all WSL defenders, only Kerstin Casparij (23) created more chances from open play than Medina (20), while across Europe’s big five leagues, only Maya Le Tissier (406), Jade Rose (374) and Kay-Lee de Sanders (364) completed more carries than Medina’s colossal tally of 357.
Combined with a duel success rate of 64.6% and 71.7% in the air in 2025-26, the Spaniard arrives with a profile that suggests she can contribute at both ends of the pitch.
At the other end, Monica Jusu Bah provides another exciting option. The former BK Häcken forward brings title-winning experience and the potential to address one of United’s key issues from last season.
The 23-year-old scored 10 goals in the 2025 Damallsvenskan, second only to teammate Felicia Schröder among Häcken players, and joins a United side searching for a more consistent source of goals at the top end of the pitch.
Goals were rarely a collective problem. United had 15 different WSL goalscorers in 2025-26, more than any other side and their highest total in a single top-flight campaign.
What they lacked, though, was a prolific focal point. Elisabeth Terland, Jess Park and the now-departed Melvine Malard finished as the club’s joint-leading league scorers with six goals each, while no United player ranked among the WSL’s top 10 goalscorers.
The Spine Olid Can Build Around
For all the change around United, Olid is not starting from scratch. There remains a core of players who should provide the foundations for whatever comes next.
At the back, Le Tissier has become integral to almost everything positive United do. No United outfield player won more aerial duels (64) or recorded a higher duel success rate (63.8%).
She also led all WSL players for touches (1,996) and carries (406) last season, while only Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey attempted more passes in the opposition half than Le Tissier’s 690. Her carry total was also the highest across Europe’s top five leagues.
Her influence will be particularly important as Olid looks to compensate for the loss of several key attacking contributors.
Melvine Malard, who departed for Chelsea this summer, led United for involvement in open-play shot-ending sequences last season (99), with Jess Park close behind on 91.
Malard’s departure leaves a sizeable hole, though the graphic also demonstrates why Park could become even more important.
It was arguably Park’s best WSL campaign yet. She led the division for completed dribbles (39), possession won in the final third (30) and carries into the attacking third (53), while her six goals and five assists were also career-best WSL returns.
Ella Toone sits immediately behind her with 83 attacking-sequence involvements, despite enduring an injury-hit campaign in which she featured in only 14 league games; if they can keep her fit, she will have a much more significant impact on their campaign.
Toone also starts the season just one goal shy of equalling Leah Galton’s club-record tally of 35 WSL goals.
Dominique Janssen could be another player particularly suited to Olid’s arrival. The new United head coach gradually transformed Hearts into a side capable of controlling possession and progressing the ball through the thirds, principles that could suit many of the experienced players already at her disposal.
Among WSL defenders to play at least 1,000 minutes last season, Janssen ranked seventh for passing accuracy (88.4%), while Hinata Miyazawa’s technical qualities could prove equally valuable after recording an 88.0% pass completion rate, the third-highest among qualifying midfielders.
That leaves Olid with an experienced technical core around which to build: Le Tissier and Janssen at the back, Miyazawa in midfield, and Park and Toone further forward. The challenge now is determining how much more she can extract from that group as responsibility shifts following a summer of significant change.
Can The New Model Deliver?
Olid will not have long to find out. United head into the new season without a win in pre-season and face an immediate test away to an ambitious London City Lionesses side on opening night.
The Opta supercomputer makes United favourites for that encounter, giving them a 57.8% chance of victory compared with London City’s 20.8%, but it is hardly a gentle introduction for a new manager trying to implement her ideas.
Looking beyond that game, the supercomputer still expects United to be the team most likely to challenge the WSL’s established top three.
United are given a 39.3% chance of finishing fourth, compared with an 18.7% chance of breaking into the top three. Their title probability stands at just 3.8%, illustrating the size of the gap Olid has inherited to Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.
But United may have one advantage over those three this season: time.
Without Champions League football, Olid will have more opportunity on the training ground to implement her ideas and develop a young squad, while Chelsea, City and Arsenal balance domestic ambitions with the additional demands of Europe.
There could be an opportunity for silverware, too. With the three European clubs no longer involved in the League Cup, the competition represents a realistic chance for United to turn this new era into something tangible.
Enjoy this? Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
