On August 21, Boston announced the signing of their seventh player and first NWSL regular, Bárbara Olivieri. The Legacy are sending “$50k in 2026 intra-league transfer funds, $35k in conditional intra-league transfer funds, and $30k in conditional expansion allocation money” to Houston and have signed the forward through 2029.
In Houston, Olivieri scored six times and racked up four assists in 44 apperances.
On August 11th, Boston Legacy FC announced the signing of free agent attacking midfielder Aleigh Gambone after the 24-year old spent the last two years in Scotland. Gambone was Glasgow City F.C.’s 2024/2025 Player of the Year after scoring 4 goals and 4 assists. With Gambone playing in an advanced position, Glasgow City had the best goals scored-to-goals allowed ratio in the league.
This deal keeps Gambone in Boston through 2027. She’ll be joining German side FC Nürnberg Frauen until January.
Believe it or not, Aleigh Gambone might be the most interesting signing thus far. At least in terms of potential. Is she being brought in as a starter? Is she an impact sub for when Boston needs a playmaker?
A lot is obviously going to come down to how well her playstyle and ability translates to the NWSL. She was one of the better players in Scotland last season, so the answer to this question will likely come down to her performance in Germany and who Boston is planning to sign in the next few months.
Luckily we have plenty of highlights so watch from both her time at UNC and in Scotland.
They’re obviously only highlights (and the Glasgow City compilation doesn’t feature the best quality video), but it’s obvious why both her previous teams and Boston were interested in signing Gambone.
From the college highlights alone, it seems she has great positioning, an uncanny ability to find her teammates, and a work rate that seems almost necessary for the system Boston Legacy FC is looking to play.
Boston Legacy announced their fifth signing for the 2026 season, with 21-year old midfielder Alba Caño being the latest roster addition for the new NWSL club.
Caño earned her first Barcelona start this past season and finished the season with four starts, one goal and one assist. Most of her appearances were made on the right side of the midfield, although she did also play in a more attacking role in a couple of games.
Caño is signed through 2027 with a team-held option for 2028, according to Taylor Vincent. She will go on loan to Barcelona until January 2026.
When Domènec Guasch was announced as GM, I assumed it was a matter of time before someone—a player, staff member, etc.—joined Boston. I’m happy it was the former and even happier it was a young talent. I don’t think there was any chance an established Barca player would look to join an expansion side, but someone like Caño could be a nice first season starter.
Unfortunately there’s not a ton of game footage to dive into. You can watch the full Champions League game she appeared in, but most video of her comes in the form of league highlights. Her assist was a short pass to an open teammate who scored off a deflection. She made a great run in her first career Barcelona goal. The cross from Fridolina Rolfö (who is also a free agent as of July 7) was the real highlight, but Caño outruns two defenders and a teammate to score past Sevilla’s keeper.
Until Boston officially begins play in 2026, many Legacy players will be playing on loan across multiple leagues & countries. At the time of publishing, there are only four players signed and on loan, but this post will be updated when new players are loaned out.
Due to Mexico’s relatively unique scheduling, you can actually watch Karich play from this July until early 2026 (where she’ll be probably be recalled to start training in Boston).
You can watch Karich play on Club America’s Youtube channel (where games are streamed live) or occasionally on Vix (select games).
The late August signing of Olivieri coincided with her loan to Liga MX, where she’ll join Tigres. The Houston Dash forward will likely play a key role for Tigres in the second half of their season.
Tigres plays two more times in August, on Tuesday (8/26) and Sunday (8/31).
Boston fans will have to wait until September to watch the only forward on the Legacy (as of July 22) play next. She also just scored two goals in four games for Mali in the Women’s AFCON.
You can catch these games streamed on DAZN’s Youtube channel.
The former UNC & Gotham left-back will play for the defending champions in 2025-26. This will be her first professional game after not appearing for Gotham.
USLSL games can be streamed on Peacock.
The two-time USLSL Team of the Month defender is back with Fort Lauderdale this upcoming season. She started all 15 games she played in last season and also added two assists. Like Elgin, she kicks off the season on August 23.
The young Barcelona midfielder is returning to the club on loan until January, when she’ll join Boston. She appeared in nine matches last season (including a Champions League game) and started four times.
Barcelona and other Liga F teams can be watched on DAZN.
Another former Tarheel joins the club in 2026, but Gambone will first play in Germany for the newly promoted side. She had a solid season in Scotland (4 goals and 4 assists) so it should be interesting to see if she ends up starting most of Nürnberg’s games in the midfield.
Aleigh and the rest of the Bundesliga can be watched on DAZN.
The young forward was signed in October and loaned to Houston for the remainder of the NWSL season. She has yet to appear for Houston as of mid-October.
You can watch the NWSL on numerous television networks, as well as NWSL+.
Boston made headlines when it announced the signing of prolific goal scorer and Brazilian national team forward Amanda Gutierres.
The Boston Legacy announced two new signings on Thursday morning, bringing the total roster size up to four players.
Originally from New Jersey, Emerson Elgin won an NCAA national championship with UNC in 2024 before signing a short-term contract with Gotham FC. She never played, but she was a consistent starter in college.
Laurel Ansbrow, a North Carolina native, played at Wake Forest & matched up against Elgin and UNC in that national title game. She also spent last season at Ft. Lauderdale United where she was named to the USLSL Team of the Month twice. Despite arriving later in the season, he led the team in clearances and blocks.
Both played 90 minutes, with Elgin ending her college career with that championship.
Before they join the Legacy in 2026, they’ll both go out on loan. Both will join the USL Super League, Elgin with the Tampa Bay Sun and Ansbrow will join Ft. Lauderdale United.
Although both Elgin and Ansbrow have both played & trained with professional teams, this is Boston’s first real experience targeting college talent. It was mentioned during Edward Gallagher’s hiring announcement that he has experience scouting college talent, which caught the eyes of some soccer fans.
I’ve only been able to watch the first half, but here are my thoughts from their performance for the first 45 minutes of the 2024 NCAA Championship Game:
On July 9, Brighton & Hove Albion announced their captain Vicky Losada would become a free agent, as her contract was expiring this summer. Given her experience with some of the top teams in Europe, along with her leadership qualities, could Boston Legacy be a potential destination?
Vicky Losada has won quite a lot over her almost 20 year career. The 34 Spanish midfielder has won Serie A with Roma, six league titles & the 2021 UEFA Women’s Champions League with Barcelona, two cups with Arsenal, and one with Manchester City. Given the international reputations of these clubs, Boston would be landing a decorated leader to pair with Annie Karich.
It’s unclear whether Losada would be an every week starter, she started 15 of 22 games for Brighton last year. That said, even off the bench there’s a lot of value in having someone like her on the roster.
Given that Boston’s Director of Recruitment, Edward Gallagher, was with Brighton from 2023-2025, there’s a potential connection here. It was even mentioned in the teams hiring announcement that he was involved with her signing with Brighton.
There’s some addition great writing about Gallagher’s work on this Analytics FC blog.
As a Brighton (and Roma) fan, this might just be wishful thinking, but there’s no doubt this would make sense. Between the Edward Gallagher connection, Boston’s need to fill its roster with experience, the potential for Losada to mentor young players like Karich, and the need to make a splash with roster building for the team’s inaugural season, why not take a chance?
Even though we’re past those prime Barcelona years, I still think Losada could make for an above average NWSL midfielder. She’s not going to set any league records, but even in her most recent season with Brighton, she was still a key piece of the midfield.
If Losada is signed, she’d be the third signing from a top-flight European league and the biggest name of the group. Losada would join Aissata Traoré as the second player on the Legacy with experience playing for a her country’s senior team.
Back in 2014, she played for the now defunct Western New York Flash so she at least has some experience playing in the United States. She had 9 G+A during that season, so if there’s any chance she could replicate anywhere close to that form, she would make a perfect Legacy midfielder.
Just over a week since Boston’s first signing was announced, the club has signed it’s second player and the NWSL’s first ever Mali international in Aïssata Traoré. The striker spent last season at FC Fleury 91, in France’s Première Ligue. Traoré helped the team finish fifth, as she tied for the team lead in goals with 9 and was tied for second in assists with 4.
The 27-year old is signed on a three-year deal and will remain with Fleury until the 2026 NWSL pre-season.
Luckily, we’ll be able to see Aïssata Traoré play slightly earlier than we will Annie Karich (Traoré plays tomorrow, July 11 for Mali. We have to wait until Sunday, July 13 for Karich’s debut with Club America).
Signing a first-team international with a decent goal scoring history in a top league is always going to get a good grade from me. She seems like an easy choice to start at striker and depending on her performance for Mali in the Africa Cup of Nations, this may end up being an even bigger deal.
Her defensive metrics look great (which is perfect for how this Boston team is expecting to play). Traoré ranked in the 99th percentile in tackles, 96th in interceptions, and 94th in blocks. If Boston looks to score off the counter, then Traoré’s style of play is perfect.
She scored a brace twice last season on route to 9 total goals. Here is the first brace:
59:45 for the first goal. Great header from a cross, although Stade de Reims was down a player after a red card.
1:12:10 for the second goal of the half. Traoré capitalizes off a poor clearance from the keeper and a great run gets her in position for an easy goal.
Here is the second brace of the season:
1:30:10 for her first goal. This was a great move after receiving the ball off a deflection (pass?) from her teammate. The touch to create space was major.
1:37:38 for her second goal, a penalty kick. Traoré actually draws this penalty and then rolls it past the keeper. Even if the keeper had guessed correctly, it may have been out of reach.
It didn’t take long after announcing head coach Filipa Patão before Boston made its first official signing.
Annie Karich, a 21 year-old midfielder/defender from Surfside, California was announced on the morning of July 2. Karich most recently spent two years at Freiburg in the German Bundesliga, earning 23 starts over that period and 33 total appearances.
At Santa Clara University, Karich was named First Team All-WCC twice, while also winning the 2022 WCC Freshman of the Year and 2023 WCC Defender of the Year.
Playing in more of a defensive role, she graded in the 99th percentile for blocks across FBrefs’ Top 9 Competitions. While she’s probably best suited for the midfield, she spent a good amount of time in Germany playing centre back. This versatility could come in handy for the Legacy if she’s forced into the defense due to injury, rotation, etc.
She’ll be loaned to a Liga MX Femenil club, but that team is currently not named. It was apparently leaked online that it would be Club América, where she would join fellow American Sarah Luebbert.
Her contract is through the end of the 2027 season, with an option to renew for 2028.
This seems like an excellent first signing to me. A young, defensive midfielder (with versatility to play as a center-back) with a successful college career and strong performance in one of Europe’s best leagues? Outside of signing a “star” or a USWNT player, I don’t think you can ask for more than this.
She’s likely an instant starter, either in defense or the midfield, and even with future signings planned, it’s probably going to stay that way. I’m tempering my expectations for any star signings (aside from maybe a New Englander or two), but if the Legacy keep looking to fill out the roster with Karich-level potential, I think Boston will fare better than some other recent expansion teams.
I’ll look to have a more in-depth review of Karich’s time in Germany written soon, but for now, here are some statistical comparisons from her performances over the past year:
With Boston Legacy officially announcing the hiring of Filipa Patão, many of the most important staff have been filled or are inching closer to being annoucned. With hirings from Barcelona, Benfica, and Brighton, the Legacy are clearly looking to some of the top leagues in Europe to construct the roster for 2026.
With the first games of the Women’s Euro 2025 tournament kicking off on July 2, what better time to preview some players to watch that Boston could potentially be looking to sign for their inaugural season.
An important note, many of these players are likely out of range (financially, geographically, etc.) for most of these players, so this is mostly for fun. That said, I’ve tried to filter out any players who are clearly unsignable for the Legacy.
After spending her early years winning trophies across Scandinavia, Koivisto took her talents to England (Brighton & Liverpool) before moving over to AC Milan in 2024, where she had a strong season in Italy’s Serie A. If Milan is again unable to qualify for Champions League soccer next season, is a trip to the NWSL next?
The Finnish right back seems like a strong defensive option for an expansion club looking to create a sturdy defense. She grades highly in defensive metrics like blocks and tackles in the attacking third (which fits perfectly with Patão’s recent comments about playing aggressively and winning the ball back), while offering some solid passing as well. She ranked in the 95th percentile of fullbacks for progressive passes, so she could end up being a key contributor for a team looking to create chances and play exciting soccer.
With a contract expiring in 2027, collegiate experience in the United States, and 109 caps at age 30, this could be a very strong signing for the Legacy.
If Koivisto’s résumé wasn’t impressive enough, wait until you meet the 21 year old Icelandic international who was just named Serie A’s best goalkeeper this past season.
Signed by Everton at age 18, Rúnarsdóttir was already making waves across Iceland’s top three leagues. While she never played for the English club, she signed a four-year contract sign Bayern Munich in 2022. While she only appeared once for the German giants, her loan to Inter Milan has created massive attention for the young keeper. She started 23 games for the Serie A runners-up in 2024-25 and kept a clean sheet in 10 of those appearances.
Group A isn’t the toughest draw for Iceland, so their potential to advance out of the group stage will likely rely on how well Cecilía’s heroics in Serie A translate over to this tournament. Regardless of how she plays this summer, Boston should consider her a priority with her contract at Bayern ending next year.
The Group A favorites have quite a bit of star power and in an ideal world, Boston would be looking at players like Engen and Graham Hansen. I would not call the world we’re living in close to ideal, so it seems like this will have to stay a dream. That said, the Legacy’s connection to Benfica could make Marit Bratberg Lund an interesting choice.
Put simply, Lund is a starting quality left back. She can pass, she can defend, she can score. She started multiple Champions League qualification matches last year, played all 90 minutes, and won 2 of 3. Patão has spent only a season with Lund, but with 11 G+A with Benfica, it’s clear that there’s talent here.
Ana-Maria Crnogorčević hasn’t scored for club or country since last July, so I’m not sure how keen Boston will be on singing the Swiss legend. With two fullbacks highlighted in Group A, while not look at a center back here? The only information I can find on her contract at Freiburg indicates she’ll be a free agent at the end of June.
Stierli didn’t look too out of place making the jump from Switzerland to Freiburg. She had the second highest match rating on FotMob of any defender on the team, even with her red card against Eintracht Frankfurt as a blemish on an otherwise solid season. I don’t think she’s destined for a Best XI in Germany (or the NWSL), but she’s played internationally against some of the best teams in Europe and if Switzerland can rebound from a pretty terrible run of fixtures (their last win or draw was in October), I’d expect Stierli to receive some interest from at least a few defensive-minded teams.
Note: This was written before Blom signed with Sevilla. Pretend this was written about Tessa Wullaert.
Another free agent heading into this tournament, Jassina Blom could offer a veteran presence upfront, even if this past season was her lowest goal scoring total in Liga F. Much of that dropoff (from 6 league goals in 2023-24 to just 3 this past year) is mainly due to her reduced playing time. Her goals per 90 actually increased and three goals in six starts is solid, so there’s a chance she just needs more consistent playing time, which an expansion team can offer.
The one issue with scouting Blom this tournament is that Belgium is crowded in attack. Despite playing a 3-4-3 in attack, her best chance for making an impact is probably off the bench.
This is tough, as the entire Italy squad for the 2025 Euros plays domestically in Italy (aside from Arianna Caruso, who is signed to Juventus, but was loaned to Bayern. Notably, Sofia Cantore just signed with the Washington Spirit, so there’s another reason to keep an eye on Italy). That said, a former Roma defender is now a free agent.
Elena Linari is already generating interest from the likes of London City, so I’m not sure if Boston has enough time to persuade her to leave Europe for a new NWSL team. That said, she’s won a Serie A title and a Supercoppa in 2022, plus she was one of the leagues best defenders in the early 2020’s.
Her most recent Serie A season was a step down from her usual quality of play, but it could be worth building a defense around a proven winner.
With Benfica’s stature in the country, it’s no surprise that Portugal is full of players that were either coached by Patão last year, or have been over her years at the club. Although Jéssica Silva is likely to be available and has NWSL experience, I’m not sure the reunion between Silva and her former coach is happening any time soon.
One interesting option is Andreia Norton. Her was just extended until 2028, so she won’t be leaving Portugal in 2026, but depending on how Patão’s first couple seasons go, she would make a great future signing. While she never played there due to injury, her quality in the early 2010’s led to a contract with Barcelona. Since then, she’s played at Inter Milan, Braga, and most recently, Benfica.
She was one of Portugal’s only bright spots in a 7-1 loss earlier this year and she’ll be playing against them in the group stage this month. The other Benfica players to keep an eye on during group stages are Carole Costa, Catarina Amado, Lúcia Alves, and Andreia Faria.
By nature of being one of the best team’s in this tournament (and globally), any signing from the Spain national team is not going to be cheap. That said, if Domènec Guasch wants to make a strong first impression, this is the way to do it.
Obviously there’s talent all across this roster, but Cristina Martín-Prieto makes sense for a couple of reasons. Her contract with Benfica (yes, we’re doing this again) ends in 2026 and her first season in Portugal saw her score 18 goals in 20 appearances. Does this translate over to the NWSL? Probably not, but having a veteran (she’ll be 33 in mid-March when the season starts) presence and a proven goal scorer is huge.
Spain’s roster is so stacked that Martín-Prieto likely won’t get a ton of starts this tournament, but I’d keep an eye on any sub appearances to see if she can replicate her domestic goal scoring.
Did Josefine Hasbo just sign a two-year deal with Gotham? Sure. Who’s to say in 2027, the Harvard alum doesn’t look to return to the Boston area?
Due to her proximity to Boston and her current status as an NWSL player, this could possibly be more realistic than some of the other names here. Possibly. While they’ve taken a step back from last season, there’s still some level of prestige around playing for Gotham.
That being said, is there a larger role available in Boston for Hasbo? The answer should obviously be “yes”. There’s strong competition in NY’s midfield and Boston would likely offer an easy path to a starting role. There’s a chance her performance in the Euros and subsequently in the league will force Juan Carlos Amorós to start her moving forward, but if not, the Legacy have a quite a few spots open for players like Hasbo.
My original option here was Ann-Katrin Berger, another Gotham player, given that she’s extended her contract through 2026, that would have to be a move in the Legacy’s second off-season. Instead, I’ve gone with a more unlikely option in Germany’s midfield.
Sjoeke Nüsken is signed with Chelea until June of next year, but in terms of taking big swings in your first NWSL season, why not aim for an elite midfielder?
Whether it was at Eintracht Frankfurt or Chelsea, Nüsken did a bit of everything. She can score, she grades out as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, and she wins. A lot.
While I don’t think she’s going to set any assist records and her pass completion percentage is lower than I’d like, if this team is going to play with a high press, someone like Nüsken would be a game changer.
Suggesting Boston sign a Chelsea player and following that up by saying they should look into a Barcelona player might sound like I’m aiming too high, but there’s a chance the Legacy won’t even need to negotiate with the club.
I’ve seen both 2026 and 2029 for Emilia’s final contract year, so if it’s the former, Boston is in the clear. If not, Domènec Guasch could his connections to negotiate the rare Europe-to-NWSL loan. Bayern loaned the Royals Ana María Guzmán earlier this year, so there’s at least a recent precedent for this type of move.
Given that she’s only appeared for Barcelona B, it’s not easy to tell if she’d be ready for first-team NWSL play. Her play at the Euros may impact her role on the team.
Any free agent is making this decision easy. Her last three teams were Arsenal, PSG, and Bayern, so from a marketing perspective this is a no-brainer.
She was away from the team on maternity last year so her playing time dropped off significantly in 2024-2025, so the Euros should be an interesting barometer for how many top clubs will be reaching out to the center-back. It’s unclear if she’ll play a ton (she’s only played a couple minutes in May for the team and hasn’t played since), but Boston fans won’t be the only ones monitoring the multi-championship winning defender.
Like Spain, it’s tough to imagine any England players will appear for the Legacy during their first season. That said, Keating finds herself in an interesting position. She won the Women’s Super League Golden Glove during the 2023-24 season, and ended up splitting starts with Ayaka Yamashita. While Keating started a couple more games, Boston would be able to promise her the first-choice goalkeeper role.
Keating is behind Hannah Hampton on England’s depth chart, so we might only get one or two appearances (depending on how deep England goes), but in terms of England’s available players, Boston should have a good pitch if Keating is looking for a new club.
It seems as if every French player is signed beyond 2026, so I had there was really not many choices here. Despite just signing a one-year extension at Juventus, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin is one of the only players who would be available soon after the Legacy kick off their inaugural season.
The veteran keeper has won all three domestic trophies in Italy, as well as the 2017-2018 Champions League (she didn’t start, but I’m still counting this). If Boston is looking for players who have already created their own Legacy, PPM would be a fantastic start. Since moving to italy, she’s started at least 14 games every season and has won two league titles. Her lowest finish in the league has been second.
With 65 caps for France, she’s the clear starting keeper when she’s healthy. It’ll be interesting to see if her performance this tournament and in Serie A this year dictate if her club extends her for another year or not.
Another international free agent makes this an easy choice. Lynn Wilms’ contract at Wolfsburg expired a few days ago, making her a great option at right-back.
Helping Wolfsburg to a second place finish, she contributed 4 goals and 3 assists. She ranked in the 98th percentile for shot-creating actions, which will come in handy
Wales is another team with quite a few free agents, but Sophie Ingle fills a couple of roles. First, she’s the natural choice for the first Boston Legacy captain. She’s captained both Wales and Bristol City over the past 10+ years of her career.
Second, she’d still be considered a very strong midfield option for a number of NWSL teams. At Chelsea last season, she had a 7.11 Sofascore rating (her second consecutive season above a 7). There’s no reason to think that at least some of that form wouldn’t translate over to the States.
Given that she’s likely to play a lot of minutes for this underdog Wales team, we should get a good look at what how well this veteran midfielder would fit into the Legacy.
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