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Manchester City are in advanced talks to sign the United States midfielder Sam Coffey from Portland Thorns, the Guardian understands.
The 27-year-old has been granted permission to fly to Manchester to try to finalise the move, which multiple sources have said is close to completion, and could give City a big boost in their quest to win a first Women’s Super League title since 2016.
The English club are believed to have been tracking Coffey for an extensive period. She has spent three years with Portland and was their captain in 2025. Coffey has two seasons on her contract.
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She has played 42 times at senior international level for the four-time world champions, scoring five times and providing four assists, and helped the USA win gold at the 2024 Olympics. She is most adept in the holding midfield role.
Coffey was not named in the US’s 26-player squad on Thursday for a training camp in California this month, and that is understood to be related to her being given permission to travel to England.
The move would be a blow to the NWSL, with another of its biggest stars leaving, and specifically another key player for the US national side. It would follow high-profile exits for Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma, who were snapped up by Chelsea last year, and the USA right-back Emily Fox is in good form for Arsenal after moving in January 2024 from North Carolina Courage.
City are six points clear at the top of the WSL at the halfway stage in a season that resumes this weekend after the winter break.
Brighton on Thursday signed the midfielder Olaug Tvedten from the Norwegian club Vålerenga. Brighton’s head coach, Dario Vidosic, described Tvedten as “a technical goalscoring midfielder with real quality”.
Leicester confirmed the signing of the experienced full-back Ashleigh Neville, who was Tottenham’s longest-serving player, and Bristol City announced their acquisition of the England winger Katie Robinson from Aston Villa. Leicester’s Janice Cayman has joined PSV, a move understood to have been predominantly motivated by a desire to be closer to family and friends.
