NWSL Secondary Trade Window Chaos

Taylor Vincent
Taylor Vincent, Resident NWSL ExpertAugust 22, 2024
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#nwsl #trade window #gotham fc #utah royals fc #racing louisville fc #seattle reign fc #orlando pride #kansas city current #portland thorns
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After a 2023 secondary window that only saw 16 new player signings and one trade (non-player related), this year’s secondary window is best described as mayhem. These last two weeks alone there have been six trades with five of those including player movement. Here’s a breakdown of the recent trade action.

Gotham ↔ Utah

Gotham sends Utah 2024 and 2025 International Spot in exchange for $100k Allocation Money

Gotham: Ahead of the trade, Gotham was only utilizing four of their seven international spots in both 2024 and 2025. Receiving cash for something not in use, and still keeping the buffer of unused spots was a good deal for Gotham. Two days later they would sign Portuguese forward Jéssica Silva through 2024, so even with the window winding down they still only have five of their six international spots in use.  

Utah: The expansion side was already using all seven of their spots before the trade, the additional one allowed them to sign Canadian forward Cloé Lacasse through 2027 following her transfer from WSL side Arsenal. Lacasse will bring another dynamic to a Utah side that is trying to find their footing and currently sit at the bottom of the NWSL table. With current Royal forward Ally Sentnor missing roughly a month of regular season play for the U20 FIFA World Cup, Lacasse will have the opportunity to make an instant impact. 

Louisville ↔ Orlando

Louisville sends defender Carson Pickett to Orlando in exchange for $75k in Allocation Money

Louisville: Doing the right thing by their players by granting Pickett’s request to move closer to home as she returns to Orlando where the Florida State product played in 2018-2020. 

Orlando: The Pride are receiving a high-caliber outside back who is one of the top chance creators in the league right now. 

Kansas City ↔ Portland

Kansas City sends forward Alex Spaanstra to Portland in exchange for $25k in intra-league transfer funds and an additional $15k in Allocation Money.

Kansas City: Spaanstra has played in 11 matches and accumulated a little less than 600 minutes with one goal and one assist this regular season for Kansas City. With names like Temwa Chawinga, and Bia Zaneratto scoring lots of goals, as well as other additions in the secondary window it makes sense for Kansas City to trade the young forward to somewhere she might get more minutes and development. For the number of minutes she’s played this year, the price point does feel a bit low on what Kansas City received in return for her heading to Portland. 

Portland: The Thorns not only have regular season matches to plan for, but also Concacaf W Champions Cup matches, and with forward Morgan Weaver not yet returned to active status following her knee injury it makes sense to be adding extra depth up top for relatively cheap compared to other NWSL trade deals. (Remember that Portland paid Houston $35k for a goalkeeper who never ended up playing in the regular season match just a few months ago). Added bonus, Spaanstra spent time playing with Sophia Smith in US Youth National Teams. 

Louisville ↔ Seattle

Louisville sends midfielder Jaelin Howell and $50k in Allocation Money to Seattle in return for forward Bethany Balcer

Louisville: Long story short – If Racing wants to get up above the playoff line, they need a proven goal scorer to come in and help them finish games out. Bethany Balcer is precisely that; she currently sits third in the Reign all-time scorer list and has already scored five goals this year. Fun Fact: Balcer actually played with current Racing head coach Bev Yanez back in 2019 when she was a rookie in Seattle. Howell, although the team captain, has been plagued with injury this season playing in less than half of Racing’s regular season minutes. In that time, the depth of Marisa DiGrande and Taylor Flint has shined. It can’t be easy for Louisville fans to see another fan favorite exit the team, but the depth in the midfield should be able to sustain its continuity. 

Seattle: Balcer’s presence on the pitch will likely be missed, but the depth that Seattle has with Veronica Latsko, Jordyn Huitema, alongside newly added Nérilia Mondésir and Ana-Maria Crnogor?evi? will likely be able to fill in any potential gaps left. Additionally, they are receiving $50k in allocation money and a solid midfielder in Jaelin Howell. Now Seattle may now have 10 midfielders currently signed for 2024, but only six–including Howell–are signed through 2025. Howell has the opportunity to become a pivotal piece in Seattle’s long term plans. 

Louisville ↔ Portland

Louisville sends forward Reilyn Turner to Portland in return for forward Janine Beckie

Louisville: Making a move for a proven chance creator like Janine Beckie makes sense alongside Racing’s other secondary window moves including filling the gap made by trading Carson Pickett to be closer to home and acquiring forward Bethany Balcer. Additionally, Beckie signed a two-year contract extension with Racing to keep her in Louisville through the 2026 season. Although Turner is definitely a young talent having scored four goals already this year, the team has conceded late goals in multiple games and seems to struggle to stay mentally in games for the whole 90. With it being their fourth season in the league and not having made it to a postseason, now is the time to bring in added talent who know what’s needed to get them there to help guide the team in the second half of the season. 

Portland: Beckie has spent almost three seasons with the Thorns, with an untimely ACL tear in the final 2023 preseason match keeping her out of the entirety of the last season, and overall has recorded three goals and four assists in her time with the squad. Turner’s speed and finishing skills could be fun to see alongside Sophia Smith, but with a total of seven other forwards already on the Thorns roster, Turner will need to lean into the competition and excel to find time on the pitch. 

Gotham ↔ North Carolina

Gotham sends defender Maycee Bell to North Carolina in return for $80k Allocation Money and $10k intra-league transfer funds

Gotham: The reigning NWSL Champions have a stacked roster, which means unfortunately for the first round draft pick, the regular season minutes this year have totalled less than 300. Trading the young player will allow her to get more minutes, and also returns some cash back into the pockets of Gotham. 

North Carolina: Bell played collegiately at UNC, so it’s a return to the known as she even trained with the Courage as a collegiate player. In her eight matches with Gotham, Bell scored the game winner against San Diego , won nine tackles and 25 duels. She’ll bring in added depth to the Courage backline. 


#nwsl #trade window #gotham fc #utah royals fc #racing louisville fc #seattle reign fc #orlando pride #kansas city current #portland thorns
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