Layla Drury Set to Sign Historic Professional Deal with Manchester United Women
Manchester United Women are about to put another line in the record books next to Layla Drury’s name.
Already the club’s youngest ever player and youngest goalscorer, the 17-year-old forward is set to become the youngest player to sign a professional contract with United’s WSL side, underlining both her rapid rise and the club’s faith in their academy.
Drury burst into the senior picture in January, thrown into an FA Cup tie against Burnley and responding with the kind of composure that makes coaches rethink their depth charts. She didn’t just get minutes. She scored in a 5-0 win, turning her debut into a statement and etching her name into club history before most players have finished school.
That goal made her United Women’s youngest ever scorer. The appearance itself, at 16 years and 220 days, broke a record previously held by Lauren James, set back in 2018. Those are not easy footsteps to follow. Drury didn’t blink.
Her impact wasn’t limited to a one-off cup cameo either. While still only 16, she collected seven senior appearances across all competitions last season, including five substitute outings in the WSL. They were short spells, but they were meaningful ones, trusted minutes in a league that punishes inexperience.
United’s plan now is clear: Drury will step fully into first-team life next season on a full-time basis. No more drifting between age groups. No more half measures. For a club that has talked openly about building a sustainable model on the women’s side, this is exactly the kind of pathway they want to showcase.
The Wales-born forward has already experienced the tug-of-war that comes with elite potential at international level. She has represented both Wales and England at youth level, switching her allegiance to England in February. That decision, like her club progress, points to a player thinking long term and backing her own ceiling.
Her impending contract will carry another milestone. Drury will become the first player to sign a professional deal with Manchester United Women before turning 18. For the academy staff who have worked her through the system, it is a powerful validation. For the club’s hierarchy, it is a tangible example of the strategy they keep preaching: develop from within, create stars rather than just buy them, and build a women’s team that can sustain itself on talent it has nurtured.
While United lock in one of their brightest prospects, another WSL side is making a significant attacking move of its own.
London City Lionesses have confirmed the signing of Germany forward Nicole Anyomi on a four-year contract after the expiry of her deal at Eintracht Frankfurt. Anyomi arrives with serious numbers behind her: 60 goals in 130 games for Frankfurt and a place in the Germany squad that reached the Euro 2022 final against England at Wembley.
For a club with ambitions of climbing the WSL ladder, securing a proven international forward on a long-term deal is a bold play. Anyomi called the chance to join the Lionesses and their project something that “means the world” to her, a line that hints at both the scale of the opportunity and the size of the expectations she now carries.
Two forwards, two very different stages of their careers. Drury, the teenager about to step fully into the professional spotlight at a giant of the game. Anyomi, the established international taking her goals to England on a new four-year adventure.
Between them lies a simple question that will shape the coming seasons: which of these attacking bets will define the next chapter of the WSL?
