Manchester City sign Yui Hasegawa from West Ham on three-year deal

June 24, 2024

Manchester City Women have completed the signing of West Ham United midfielder Yui Hasegawa.

Hasegawa, 25, has signed a three-year contract with City and immediately fills the gap in Gareth Taylor’s squad vacated by Keira Walsh’s departure to Barcelona.

Walsh, a European champion with England earlier this summer, moved to Spain for a world-record fee on Wednesday.

Hasegawa joined West Ham only last summer, moving from AC Milan.

On moving to City, she said: “When I played against City last season, I really liked the team’s playing style, so when I got this opportunity, I immediately wanted to join the club.

“People see me as an attacking player, but I also want to be known for my defending and unpredictability. I may be small, but I am strong, and I want to show that.

“I’d like to create as many goals and assists as possible for the team this season to help us to hopefully enjoy a lot of success.”

West Ham have themselves moved quickly to replace Hasegawa, signing fellow Japan international Honoka Hayashi from AIK Fotboll in Sweden earlier on Thursday.

Hasegawa, meanwhile, is a regular in the Japan squad and has made 58 appearances for her country.

Head coach Gareth Taylor added: “We’re really pleased to have been able to bring Yui on board — she’s a very gifted player and one we have admired for a while now.

“She has a lot of experience under her belt including a year already in the Barclays WSL, and we believe she will fit very nicely in with our style of play and the talented squad we already have here at City.

“We’re very much looking forward to working with Yui over the coming seasons and seeing her make her mark in a Manchester City shirt.”

City get their Women’s Super League season underway on Sunday, when they face Arsenal at the Manchester City Academy Stadium.

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Keira Walsh, the most expensive women's footballer of all time

(Photo: Manchester City)

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