Kirsty Hanson was one of the best players of the 2025/26 Barclays Women’s Super League campaign. Only Khadjia Shaw (21) and Alessia Russo (13) scored more goals than the Scotland international (12) in the BWSL last season.
What stood out, though, is that while Shaw and Russo turned out for title challenging pair Manchester City and Arsenal, Hanson shone on the frontline for an Aston Villa side that, for all intents and purposes, struggled. Indeed, Villa finished just 11 points clear of 12th-place Leicester City.
They only scored 28 times in the league. Hanson was responsible for 42.9% of their total goals. Her loss, then, is very much Tottenham Hotspur’s gain. Spurs signed the 28-year-old back in June after the striker brought the curtain down on a four-year spell in Midlands.
Hanson was part of an impressive summer recruitment drive in north London as Martin Ho looks to mastermind an improvement on last season’s fifth-place finish. A title challenge is perhaps beyond Spurs, but having established a solid foundation to build upon; Ho’s side will fancy their chances of landing a Women’s Champions League spot.
“It's an exciting time to be a part of this club and I'm so excited to get started,” Hanson said following her arrival in N17 earlier in the summer. That she reunited with a former coach - Ho was Manchester United assistant boss between 2020 and 2023 - certainly played a part in convincing Hanson to move south.
And as Ho seeks to really build upon the 2025/26 season, Spurs got their 2026/27 campaign off to a winning start. They welcomed London rivals West Ham United to the BetWright Stadium on Sunday, and made light work of the Hammers.
Signe Gaupset fired Spurs in front, before Hanson bagged the first of two goals against West Ham as Ho’s team went in at the break two goals to the good. Hanson scored her second and Spurs’ third with 15 minutes to play. Viviane Asseyi struck a late consolation as West Ham crashed to a 3-1 loss at Spurs.
Hanson’s debut performance, meanwhile, was what really stood out in Sunday’s victory. She got the better of Constance Picaud-Inconnu with two of three shots, which is par for course for a player who fired off three shots per 90 in the BWSL last season.
The second strike was Hanson in a nutshell. Starting from the right, she cut infield onto her stronger left and got the better of Picaud-Inconnu with a fine curling effort into the far top corner to wrap up the spoils.
Beyond her brace, Hanson was a real thorn in the side for the West Ham defence as she created two chances and completed one dribble in the routine home triumph. With an additional two tackles and one interception, the former Manchester United star was just as effective on the ball as she was off it.
Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hanson managed 1.5 tackles per 90 in the 2025/26 BWSL campaign. She ranked 12th for possession won in the attacking third (21) last season. One of the key reasons behind Spurs’ push to sign Hanson was her work-rate, along with her attacking output.
It’s early days yet, but the opening-weekend performance certainly showed plenty of promise. Olivia Holdt was Spurs’ top scorer in the BWSL last season, as the Dane struck eight times. Hanson is well on her way to at least matching that haul.
The performance in question would have also gone down well with the 12% of Fantasy users who selected Hanson for the first round of fixtures. 17 points was the third most from gameweek one. And valued at £8m as a midfielder, there is still time to bring Hanson into your team.
After all, her showing against West Ham was undoubtedly a sign of things to come, especially with a favourable run of games against Liverpool, Crystal Palace and former side Villa on the horizon.
