Mary Earps Joins London City Lionesses: A New Era Begins

Mary Earps is coming home. Not to Old Trafford this time, but to a club trying to crash the established order of the Women’s Super League.

The former England No 1 has signed a two-year deal with London City Lionesses after leaving Paris St-Germain, a move that underlines both her enduring ambition and the scale of the Lionesses’ plans.

“I feel the club aligns with what I stand for. I can't wait to get started and to get down to business,” Earps said, and it sounded less like a polite soundbite and more like a mission statement.

A heavyweight signing for a rising force

At 33, Earps could easily have taken a gentler route after her contract expired in France. Instead, she walks into a project that is unapologetically bold.

Backed by American businesswoman Michele Kang, London City finished sixth in their first WSL season in 2025-26. Mid-table was a statement in itself. Now they are reaching for something far higher, and their transfer strategy is making that clear.

Earps is only the headline act in a summer of intent. The club are set to sign Spain defender Mapi Leon and remain in talks with two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas after her Barcelona exit. Those are not the moves of a side content to simply survive.

“It’s about putting a marker down and saying we want to be competitive in a short space of time,” Earps said. London City are effectively shouting the same thing with every phone call they make in this transfer window.

Leaving Paris on a high

Earps arrives in London off the back of another strong season in France. She made 22 league appearances for PSG in the Première Ligue campaign just gone, keeping 12 clean sheets as they finished third, 13 points behind champions Lyon.

Those numbers matter. They show she is not coming back to England on reputation alone.

Her two seasons in Paris added a European sheen to a career already packed with honours. Yet the pull of the WSL, and of a club trying to punch its way into the elite, proved stronger than another year in Ligue 1.

“The club's values represent what I want to represent and they are passionate about what I want to achieve,” she said. “All the conversations have been really positive and every time I spoke with the club I wanted to hear more.”

The hook, clearly, went in deep.

Legacy secured, fire still burning

Earps does not arrive needing to prove anything to anyone. Her legacy is already inked into English football history.

Twice named Fifa Best Goalkeeper of the Year, she was central to England’s Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the 2023 World Cup final. On the domestic front, she spent five years at Manchester United, passed the 100-appearance mark and helped deliver the club’s first major trophy in 2024, lifting the Women’s FA Cup.

Then came the international full stop. Earps retired from England duty in 2025, stepping away as one of the country’s most recognised and influential players.

Her book, released in November, showed just how powerful that influence had become. It sparked controversy, dominated headlines and triggered debate far beyond the pitch. For weeks, Mary Earps was not just a goalkeeper; she was a cultural talking point.

Yet football has a way of cutting through the noise. When she returned to Old Trafford with PSG in the Women’s Champions League earlier this season, the reaction from the home fans told its own story. Warm applause at full-time. Respect, unprompted and unforced.

Outside the stadium, a mural of Earps celebrates her time at United. Her image is fixed on the wall; her career, very clearly, is not.

“I feel I still have so much left to give to the game and that's exactly why I chose London City,” she said. That line carries weight from someone who has already climbed most of the available peaks.

London City’s gamble – and opportunity

For London City, this is about more than a big name on a team sheet. It is about identity.

The club’s new training facility, which Earps described as “incredible”, sits at the heart of their pitch to elite players. It is a physical sign of Kang’s ambition and of a board willing to back words with investment.

“The vision and ambition, including the new training facility, is incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing that develop,” Earps said. “It shows what our owner Michele [Kang] and everyone at the club want to do in terms of really going for it.”

That phrase – “really going for it” – could easily be stitched into the club crest this summer.

London City’s debut WSL campaign ended in a respectable sixth place. A “brilliant” season, in Earps’ words, but also a platform. The challenge now is obvious: turn a promising first act into a sustained challenge higher up the table.

“It won't be easy – the WSL is extremely competitive,” she warned. “The team had a brilliant 2025-26 season finishing mid-table in their first season, now it's about climbing the table and working towards finishing as high as possible.”

The league will not wait for them. Nor will the established powers make room.

But clubs do not sign a goalkeeper of Earps’ stature, chase a defender of Mapi Leon’s calibre and hold talks with Alexia Putellas just to tread water. London City Lionesses are pushing their chips into the middle of the table.

Now they have a goalkeeper who has spent her career thriving when the stakes are highest.