We received news this morning that our fears have been realised and top goalscorer Elisabeth Terland, as anticipated, is leaving the Albion to join Manchester United.
This move had been reported as a done deal for several weeks, though the lack of an official announcement had some fans believing that Teri may have had a change of heart – but alas not. We at SheGulls wish her all the best going forward, just as long as she doesn’t score against us – ever.
If I may paraphrase the great lyricist of our generation, Ariana Grande, ‘Thank you, next’ has to be our attitude in replacing a striker who scored ten more goals in the WSL than any other Brighton player last season.
So what are the options? Who is out there? How ambitious will the Albion be? Let’s have a look shall we…
Fenna Kalma – 24 – Wolfsburg
This would be a fairly big signing for the Seagulls as she’s currently at Wolfsburg who have already lost one of their best forwards in Eva Pajor. She’s also only been there a season, so presumably they’re in no rush to move her on, but just four league starts could leave the door ajar. Prior to her move to Germany, Kalma had 33 & 30 goals for FC Twente in the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons respectively. Two of her teammates there – Marisa Olislagers and Marit Auée.
Amelie Thestrup – 29 – Bristol City
An absolute revelation at Bristol City last season scoring 9 for a team that really didn’t create too many opportunities. It’s a deal that probably could be done with the Robins now in the Championship, but age and consistency could be a question for a player who has never scored more than 3 goals before in a domestic campaign.
Nina Matejić – 19 – Crvena Zvezda
Easily the best player on the pitch against England U19’s recently, and has in fact scored 4 times for the senior Serbian national team. Stats are hard to come by due to the lack of coverage of the Serbian league, but reminds me of Terland in that she leads the line, has physical presence, and is able to create her own opportunities.
Emilía Ásgeirsdóttir – 19 – FC Nordsjælland
The domestic league in Denmark is not as well-regarded as those in Sweden or Norway, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t talent there waiting to be found. Like Teri she started young, making her debut at 15, and has increased her goal tally in every subsequent year. Last season she scored 10 goals in 16 starts to lead the league, won the domestic title with her club, and recently made her debut for the Icelandic national team.
Iris Omarsdottir – 21 – Stabæk
Why not replace one young, talented Norwegian striker with another one? Omarsdottir led the Toppserien last season with 9 goals, even as her team finished mid-table (sound familiar?). Capped at every youth level up to U23, it’s surely only a matter of time before a full call-up and a move abroad comes to fruition.
Noémie Mouchon – 21 – Stade de Reims
One I’d chalk up as more hopeful than anything else, Mouchon racked up 9 goals in 13 starts (20 played) last season in the French D1 League. No mean feat for a club not named Lyon or PSG. Unfortunately good young French players almost always get hoovered up by one of those big two, and truthfully, if not, Reims are one of the best of the rest, so it’d be bold to move across the channel to a club like Brighton. Exciting though!
Clara Luvanga – 19 – Al Nassr
Having just signed Aisha Masaka, the Albion could do well to look at another young Tanzanian international in Luvanga. She can use both feet, has great physicality, scores goals, creates chances and her potential is off the charts. Whether she can be prised away from the often lucrative sporting environment of Saudi Arabia remains to be seen though.
Martina Piemonte – 26 – Everton
Really the only player on this list that Brighton have actually been linked with, Piemonte arrived at Everton last year off a 13 goal season with Milan – by far the most productive domestic campaign of her career. For whatever reason though she never really settled into the Toffees team and ended up with just 3 goals and an assist in her first WSL stint. I think she could be a good addition, but I’m not convinced at 26 we’re going to discover she’s far better than Everton thought.
***
Well hopefully that’s given you all food for thought and some names to watch out for. Not every player is a like for like comparison to Teri, but they would add a goalscoring forward which we now so urgently need.
SHEGULLS - BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION WOMEN FANS 
Leave a comment