Kirsty Hanson: Tottenham’s Game-Changer in the WSL
Tottenham’s quiet revolution this summer has not been led by a marquee name from abroad, but by a forward who knows this league inside out and has just delivered the best season of her career.
Kirsty Hanson has traded Aston Villa for Spurs. On the surface, it looks like a solid bit of business. Look a little closer and it starts to feel like a potential game-changer.
From under the radar to ruthless finisher
Hanson finished last season as the third-highest scorer in the Women’s Super League. Twelve goals in 22 games, in a Villa side that finished ninth and often struggled to build any kind of rhythm.
Only Khadija Shaw and Alessia Russo outscored her.
This wasn’t a poacher feasting in a dominant team. Hanson carried Villa’s attack. She scored 43% of their league goals, posted the best shots-on-target ratio (50%) among the division’s top five scorers and still found time to create 16 chances for team-mates, with only two players in the squad laying on more.
She lived in the opposition penalty area, recording the most touches there of any Villa player, and yet her numbers off the ball were just as striking. Among forwards in her position, she ranked near the top for defensive work – tackles, interceptions, the ugly stuff that managers love and opponents hate.
Those are not the numbers of a system player. Those are the numbers of a forward who drags a team up the pitch and refuses to let it drift.
From Manchester frustration to Villa rebirth
Hanson’s explosion last season did not come out of nowhere. Her career has been building towards this point, even if the path has not always been smooth.
She helped Manchester United through their early years as a professional women’s side, part of the core that set standards and pushed the club into contention. Then the minutes dried up. Regular starts became rare. Confidence dipped.
Villa’s decision to take her on loan in 2022 came at exactly the right time. Hanson arrived needing a spark. She left as one of the league’s most reliable forwards.
Across two seasons in the Midlands she scored 26 goals in 100 games and collected two player-of-the-season awards. Villa gave her responsibility, and she responded with end product and edge.
“I’ve got to thank Villa so much. They know that I left on good terms. I really enjoyed my time,” she told BBC Sport. “Everyone there helped me boost my confidence again. Hopefully, I can just build on that now, but I’m not putting pressure on myself.”
Walking away from that platform was never going to be easy. But Tottenham’s pitch hit a different note.
“It was obviously a very tough decision to leave Villa but just looking at Spurs, you could see their ambition and each season they have been improving,” she said.
The Ho factor
Ambition alone does not win over a player in form. The identity of the head coach did.
“When they appointed Martin [Ho] as manager, I think that was a big statement because he is one of the best coaches I’ve worked with.”
Hanson knows exactly what she is getting with Ho. The pair worked together at Manchester United during his spell as assistant coach between 2020 and 2023, and he wasted little time making her a priority signing once he took charge at Spurs. The club backed him, paying an undisclosed fee to get her in.
“I know he gets the best out of me with the detail he puts in. I really think that will push me further on in my career,” Hanson added.
That detail has already hit the players hard.
“Training’s been really tough. It was probably one of the toughest pre-seasons I’ve done so far. Martin is challenging us, trying to push us to our limits.
“That’s what I really wanted, because I needed a challenge. I don’t just want to be signed because they think I’m good, I want them to improve me.”
It is a revealing line. Hanson arrives as one of the WSL’s most productive forwards, yet she is not treating Tottenham as a reward. She is treating it as another step up.
Spurs raise the bar
Tottenham’s fifth-place finish last season hinted at progress. It also exposed the gap to the WSL’s established elite. Breaking into the top three and reaching the Women’s Champions League is now the stated ambition.
Hanson is one piece of a broader, bolder rebuild.
Spurs have taken West Ham’s top scorer Shekiera Martinez, added France defender Alice Sombath from Lyon and prised creative midfielder Victoria Pelova from Arsenal. Those are the moves of a club no longer content to sit in mid-table and hope.
The result is a dressing room thick with competition. No one walks into this starting XI. Hanson would not have it any other way.
“I’m definitely comfortable [in the WSL] now but I still don’t see myself as one of the best. I’m very critical of myself,” she said. “It’s going to be tough. I’m not expecting anything. My main aim is just to be better because I’ve got so many levels to go to. Martin knows that as well.”
She knows the calibre of player around her and is embracing it.
“I knew the level of players that were here. I’m just so excited to learn from them. I’m also here to help others, because that’s what I’ve done at every club.
“I might not be the most talented but I’ve got a lot of fight and hunger in me. I literally run through a brick wall for my team. Hopefully I’ve showed them that.”
For a side trying to shift from hopeful to ruthless, that mentality is as valuable as her goals.
A sharper mind, a wider view
Hanson talks now like a player who has seen both sides of the game – the grind and the glory.
She has matured off the pitch as well as on it, completing a degree in sports coaching and sharpening her understanding of the bigger picture.
Asked where she has developed, her answer goes straight to game intelligence and leadership.
“I know what to do at different points in the game. I know how to calm players down.
“Previously when I worked with Martin, I was younger and I wouldn’t have been able to cope with that as much. But now I’ve definitely matured a lot.”
That growth matters for a Tottenham side trying to handle higher expectations. Talent alone will not carry them into the Champions League places. They will need players who can manage moments, steady team-mates, and still make the difference in the box.
Hanson has become that kind of player.
On 6 September, Spurs open their WSL campaign at home to West Ham. The headlines may focus on the new names from abroad, the glamour signings and the big reputations.
But if Tottenham are serious about gatecrashing the top three, it may be the quietly ruthless Scot leading their line who ends up defining their season.
