The creative leaders of the Barclays WSL2

Ashleigh Weerden and the Other Creative Talents Lighting up the BWSL2

Crystal Palace's absence from the BWSL could be a short one, as a strong run of form has them jostling for position near the BWSL2 summit with only two games to go.

And if the Eagles succeed in winning an immediate promotion back to the top tier, either by finishing in the top two or by coming through a promotion-relegation play-off, plenty of credit will have to go to Ashleigh Weerden.

The 26-year-old, who has won senior international caps both for the Netherlands and Suriname, has been the creative fulcrum of Jo Potter's team this season, and in an unorthodox manner.

Despite being most commonly fielded at wing-back, Weerden – who also has four goals to her name – leads all players in the division both for assists (nine) and chances created (57).

Weerden has plenty of competition in the creative stakes, though, not least from Bristol City's Emily Syme, Birmingham City's Lily Crosthwaite, Ipswich Town's Sophie Peskett and former Arsenal stalwart Jordan Nobbs, now of Newcastle United.

That quintet are the only players to provide at least five assists in the BWSL2 this season.

With Weerden leading the race to be the BWSL2's top creator for 2025-26, we take a deep dive into the Opta insights surrounding her and the other contenders.

Weerden the flying wing-back

Even from the quickest glance at the BWSL2's top five assisters this season, Weerden – the only non-midfielder among that group – stands out.

Of Weerden's 1,794 minutes played in the BWSL2 this season, 59% have come at left-back or left wing-back, with Palace most commonly using a 3-4-1-2 shape. A further 25% of her gametime has come further forward on the left, with Potter's system shifting to a back four at times.

Weerden has even had meaningful minutes in central midfield (9%) and up front (7%), showcasing her flexibility.

But the left flank is Weerden's primary home for a reason, as she tends to take most of her open-play touches in advanced areas on that side of the pitch.

There, Weerden can isolate opponents one-v-one and use her supreme athleticism and dribbling ability to her advantage – she ranks fifth in the league for take-on ending carries (34) and has a 47.14% dribble success rate (attempted 70, completed 33).

She marries that ability to drag her team forward with real end product, creating 20 chances following a carry this season – the most in the league. And of those 20 chances following carries, five have ended up as assists, another division-high figure.

When mapping out where Weerden creates her chances from, two things stand out.

The first is that she possesses all the traits of a traditional, flying winger, hitting the byline to supply crosses for strikers Abbie Larkin and Kirsty Howat – both of whom are in Golden Boot contention with eight and seven goals this season, respectively.

Weerden's 85 open-play crosses attempted this campaign are the most of any player, marginally ahead of Sunderland's Katy Watson (83), and she has found a team-mate with 26 of those – at least 10 more than any other player.

The second key element to her creativity is her set-piece prowess, with a spate of chances coming from corners on the right side. Weerden has taken the most corners in the BWSL2 this term (62), delivering 48 of those into the area.

Three of her assists have come from set-plays, as have 17 of her chances created. Only Southampton's Tara Bourne (four) has more set-piece assists and only Syme (who also has three assists) has created more chances from such scenarios, with 22.

But given Weerden also leads the way for open-play chances created this term, with 40, she certainly does not rely on dead balls.

Underlying data bolsters Weerden's case

With two prolific goalscorers to service, one might ask whether Weerden has been at all fortunate to reach nine assists, and it is fair to say her teammates have helped her out with some clinical finishing.

Palace's expected goals (xG) differential of +8.06 (excluding own goals) is the second highest in the division, with only Southampton (+10.56) outperforming their underlying figures by a greater margin.

And Weerden's nine assists have come from 6.27 xA, giving her the largest xA overperformance of any player in the league (+2.73).

Still, the very fact Weerden leads the xA charts, with Syme second on 5.56 and Crosthwaite third on a distant 4.05, is another feather in her cap, and it should be noted that every single player to record at least five assists in the BWSL2 has overperformed their xA figures.

If those xA figures are adjusted to a per-90 basis, Emma Bissell of Charlton Athletic comes out on top, recording 0.39 xA per 90 across her 15 appearances. She is the only player to appear in at least 10 games and better Weerden's 0.31 xA per 90.

The best of the rest

But who else has a genuine claim to be in the same bracket as Weerden?

Her closest rival in the assist charts is Bristol City's Syme (seven), who has split her minutes almost equally between the right side (51%) and a central role (49%) this term.

As mentioned earlier, Syme has the distinction of being the top chance-creator from set-pieces, with only Southampton (14) scoring more goals from corners and crossed free-kicks than Bristol City (12).

Syme is also second for xA, with 5.56, and it could be argued she has had the least help from her teammates, as her xA differential of +1.44 is the smallest of any player to assist at least four goals this campaign.

Third in the creativity charts is exciting Birmingham winger Crosthwaite, who is hoping to fire her team to the title – the Blues lead Charlton on goal difference with two games to play, the second of those coming against the Addicks on the final day.

All six of Crosthwaite's assists have come from open play, and she has not created a single chance from a set-piece this season – all 37 of hers have been in open play.

Among this group, Crosthwaite could also stake a claim to being the most valuable player to her team. She has been involved in 94 open-play attacking sequences this season. By contrast, Weerden has been involved in 92, Syme in 82, and Nobbs in 83.

An honourable mention should go to Crosthwaite's Blues teammate Veatriki Sarri, who has the fourth-highest xA figure in the league (4.02) but has been severely let down by those on the end of the chances she has created, only managing two assists.

A three-time BWSL champion during her time with Arsenal, Nobbs was considered a major coup for Newcastle when they took her back to the North East last July.

And she has lived up to expectations, racking up five assists in 18 appearances while also keeping things ticking over in midfield. She has attempted (813) and completed (661) the third-most passes of any midfielder in the league, with Aimee Everett and Chelsea Cornet leading her in those categories.

Four of Nobbs' five assists this season have come from open play, and she has also completed the most passes in the opposition half (402) and ending in the final third (218) of anyone.

Also on five assists for 2025-26 is Peskett, and her performances have been some of the most impressive, given the way Ipswich have struggled.

Ipswich, who are fighting to avoid the drop, have scored the second-fewest goals (21), accumulated the fourth-lowest xG total (23.2) and had the fourth-fewest shots (217) in the division, as well as averaging the lowest possession share (39.7%).

But Peskett has still shone, with all five of her assists coming from open play. She is one of few players more likely to face up an opposing full-back than Weerden, ranking second in the league for dribbles attempted (82) and completed (39).

If Ipswich manage to stave off relegation, plenty of thanks will be due to the 23-year-old, who is the youngest player among the top five assisters.

Though Weerden might lead the way, 2025-26 has shown that the BWSL2's well of creative talent runs deeper.

Word Credit: Harry Carr