Everton Sign Jutta Rantala from Leicester City

Everton have struck a deal to sign Finland international Jutta Rantala from Leicester City, landing one of the most dangerous forwards in the Women’s Super League over the past two seasons.

The 26-year-old still has a year left on her Leicester contract, so Everton are expected to pay a fee, underlining how highly they rate her. Talks between the clubs had been ongoing, with the move following a familiar path: the two sides have already traded heavily this summer.

From Leicester to Merseyside, the route is getting busy.

• Noemie Mouchon arrived on a free.
• Hannah Cain has made the journey back to Everton from the Foxes.
• Now comes the headline act: Rantala, Leicester’s player of the season and top scorer in 2023-24, the player they built their attack around before injury halted her momentum.

Her numbers tell a clear story. Thirteen goals in 48 appearances since joining Leicester from Swedish side Vittsjo GIK in 2023, many of them in a struggling team fighting at the wrong end of the table. She carried threat, creativity and responsibility in equal measure.

Then came the setback. A knee injury in the following campaign cut into her rhythm and, ultimately, did little to change Leicester’s fate. Relegated from the Women’s Super League in June, they are now watching the spine of their squad walk away.

Rantala becomes the sixth player to leave this summer, another big name stepping out of a club trying to regroup in the Championship. For Leicester, it is a painful but predictable consequence of the drop. For Everton, it is an opportunity they were never likely to pass up.

On the international stage, Rantala brings more pedigree. Ten goals in 36 appearances for Finland and a place in the squad at Euro 2025 mark her out as a forward comfortable under the spotlight, used to carrying expectations for both club and country.

Everton’s timing is deliberate. They finished eighth in the WSL last season, a campaign overshadowed by the departure of manager Brian Sorensen and the uncertainty that followed. Stability has been the word around Finch Farm all summer, but so has ambition.

Scott Phelan, confirmed as Sorensen’s permanent successor, has wasted little time reshaping the squad. Rantala is set to be the latest of four new signings, a move that signals a shift from simply consolidating mid-table to trying to punch higher.

This is not just another squad addition. It is a statement that Everton intend to sharpen their attack, add goals, and take advantage of a market where relegated Leicester are vulnerable.

For Rantala, it is a step back into the WSL spotlight with a club that wants to climb. For Everton, the question now is simple: with this kind of firepower coming in, how long will eighth place be acceptable?