New Year, new signing. Just 12 hours of the January transfer window had passed when Manchester City kickstarted their business for the month, announcing the arrival of defender Rebecca Knaak. It was a timely transfer, following Alex Greenwood's knee surgery in December, but it's not the only position that the club needs to address in the winter market due to injuries.
As the Women's Super League returns this weekend, Chelsea have a comfortable six-point cushion over City at the top of the table and find themselves in quite the opposite position to their nearest rivals, boasting plenty of depth while knowing that some big stars, such as Sam Kerr and Lauren James, are returning from spells on the sidelines in the second half of this season.
"We're really happy with that signing," City head coach Gareth Taylor told reporters this month, "and we'll see if there's some more to come." Fans will hope that is a hint that there is indeed more business on the horizon as this team gets ready to compete for trophies on four fronts, against some absolute juggernauts of the game.
To opt to power through and wait patiently for big names to return would be a conservative move, one unlikely to pay dividends as City chase a first WSL title since 2016.