Manaka to Chelsea

In assorted interviews and town halls, North Carolina Courage GM Dr. Ceri Bowley has been clear on a number of points around the club’s strategy.

the club’s strategy with their budget was to develop youth
fans should expect player movement
the days of allowing players such as Kerolin to leave on a free were ending
they weren’t planning to use the High Impact Player pool of salary, preferring to spread salary across the team

In the offseason, this was made clear in Denise O’Sullivan’s move to Liverpool.

On Friday, Courage fans saw another example, as Manaka Matsukubo was transferred to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

Why now, and why Chelsea #

Manaka’s contract was up at the end of the season. I’m sure the Courage made her at least one, if not multiple, offers of contract extensions. However, if the Courage weren’t willing to dip into the extra $1m of salary cap available to “high-impact players”, it’s doubtful the salary on offer was competitive to what a club like Chelsea can offer.

One new wrinkle that came up in the club’s announcement was that Manaka’s current contract (signed in January 2025) had a release clause. For those unfamiliar, a release clause is a clause that sets a transfer amount that must be accepted if the player is willing to make a move to that offering club.

In an interview with Chelsea, Manaka spoke about how she had over the years, before any offers were made, talked about Chelsea with Japanese forward Maika Hamano. It’s very possible that she has had Chelsea on her mind for a while. (It’s even possible that the release clause in her extension was specifically negotiated by her agent for this scenario).

So the Courage accepted the release fee. As the fee was determined in January of 2025 before Manaka broke out, and it wasn’t actually made public as part of the transfer, it’s safe to assume it’s not a record-breaking fee for the Courage or for women’s soccer as a whole.

Could this have been prevented? #

With moves of players such as Manaka, Kerolin, Naomi Girma, Sam Coffey, and Alyssa Thompson, there’s been a lot of talk about what this means for the future of the NWSL, and what may need to change at the league level.

There’s a number of reasons players move to large European teams.

Competition: The UEFA Champions League remains the premier club competition in the world, and the challenge of that competition is alluring to many players. By creating better local competitions like expanding the Concacaf W Champion’s Cup, re-launching cross-league relationships with Liga MX Feminil, and building a real US club cup with the USL, the NWSL could make inroads. But it will take time and money.

Connection: For non-American players such as O’Sullivan, Manaka, and Hanna Lundkvist, there is the connection to their home and their country mates that can make a move more alluring. Non-American players will always have less deep ties to the NWSL, and that can’t be avoided.

Cash: And of course there’s the finanical aspect; more money spent not just on player salary, but also on training grounds and amenities will bring in more players.

The bad news is that a certain amount of this can’t realistically be prevented. A club like Chelsea can spend over €600m on men’s players in one offseason; spending a fraction of that to outbid an NWSL team is nothing. The NWSL could double, triple, or quadruple the cap and if Chelsea wanted to offer a player more, finances wouldn’t deter them.

The good news is that upping the standards for the NWSL will deter the other teams from offering your players more. Barring very different rules about financial fair play being adopted in Europe, NWSL teams will never be able to outbid someone like Chelsea or Man City. But if they don’t up their standards and raise/abolish the salary cap, they will struggle to outbid the Brightons and Crystal Palaces of the world, and that will be a problem.

Furthermore, clubs within the NWSL need to compete to the fullest extent that any existing rules allow. The Courage’s strategy of focusing on youth and development is clear, logically followed, and defensible. It’s also a choice, made due the financial state of the ownership group. If the Courage ownership is unwilling to spend to the cap and push to raise the spending standards of the league, it’s right for fans to be frustrated.

What now? #

Immediately, there is a giant hole in the lineup. You don’t “just replace” a top-10 player in the league.

Long term, the plan is clear. The Courage, knowing that one young, attacking, comfortable-in-small-spaces midfielder was departing, signed another one in Erica Meg Parkinson.

However, Parkinson is both new to the level of competition in the NWSL, and not available until the external window officially opens on July 14th.

For the short-to-medium term, I’d expect the Courage to replace Manaka in the lineup with Carly Wickenheiser, moving Shinomi forward in the midfield into Manaka’s position. There will be a drop-off, but Shinomi has been productive in the role before.

They also hae the option of bringing either Ashley Sanchez or Ally Schlegel to the middle, as both have experience in more central roles. However, that then leaves holes elsewhere on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another signing to provide NWSL-proven depth and cover for any potential injuries.

In the meantime, Courage fans can go chip some keepers in Manaka’s honor.