Kirsty Hanson Joins Tottenham: A Game-Changing Signing

Kirsty Hanson’s move to Tottenham did not dominate the headlines this summer. It probably should have.

While the Women’s Super League buzzed around big-name arrivals from abroad, Spurs quietly picked off one of last season’s most ruthless forwards from a direct rival. Hanson, 28, left Aston Villa for north London in a deal that has all the hallmarks of a shrewd, season‑defining signing.

This is not a gamble on potential. This is proven WSL firepower.

Last term, only Khadija Shaw and Alessia Russo scored more league goals than the Scotland international. Hanson hit 12 in 22 matches for a Villa side that toiled to ninth place. She carried their attack, finishing as the division’s third-highest scorer despite playing in a team stuck in the bottom half.

Now she walks into a Tottenham side that wants to stop looking up at the elite and start standing among them.

From low on confidence to Villa talisman

Hanson’s surge into the spotlight last season did not come from nowhere. It was the peak of a steady climb that began when her Manchester United journey stalled.

At United, she helped lay the foundations of the club’s professional women’s team but struggled for consistent minutes as the squad evolved. By the time Villa took her on loan in 2022, she needed a reset.

She arrived in Birmingham low on confidence. She left as their attacking heartbeat.

Across 100 appearances for Villa, Hanson scored 26 goals and collected two player-of-the-season awards. Her loan became a permanent deal, and her form turned her into one of the league’s most dangerous wide forwards.

"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, underlining how that spell rebuilt her belief.

"Everyone there helped me boost my confidence again. Hopefully, I can just build on that now, but I'm not putting pressure on myself."

Leaving, then, was not a decision taken lightly.

"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.

Reunited with a coach who ‘gets the best’ out of her

Tottenham’s appointment of Martin Ho as head coach was the turning point. Hanson knows him well from his spell as assistant at Manchester United between 2020 and 2023, and she did not hide the weight of his influence.

"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."

Ho, in turn, made sure the admiration was mutual in football terms. He identified Hanson as a key target early in the window, and Spurs backed him, paying an undisclosed fee to secure her.

"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 is already being felt on the training ground.

"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."

This is the crux of the move: Hanson has not joined a comfortable mid-table project. She has stepped into a dressing room that expects to move up another tier.

Spurs’ top-three ambition

Tottenham finished fifth last season. Respectable. Not enough.

The target now is clear: break into the WSL’s top three and reach the Women’s Champions League. To do that, Spurs have gone aggressive in the market.

Alongside Hanson, they have brought in West Ham’s top scorer Shekiera Martinez, highly rated France defender Alice Sombath from Lyon and creative midfielder Victoria Pelova from Arsenal. It is a spine-strengthening window, and it ramps up internal competition.

"It’s going to be tough. I'm not expecting anything," Hanson said of the battle for a starting spot. "My main aim is just to be better because I've got so many levels to go to. Martin knows that as well."

She is not walking into a guaranteed role, and she knows it. That seems to suit her.

"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."

The humility is striking for a player who, statistically, carried her previous club.

Last season, Hanson scored 43% of Villa’s league goals. Almost half. She also posted the best shots-on-target ratio (50%) among the division’s top five scorers. She did not just finish moves either: only two Villa players created more chances than her 16, and she registered the most touches in the opposition box.

And she worked. Hard.

Defensively, she ranked among the top performers in her position for actions such as tackles and interceptions. Hanson was not a luxury forward; she was a pressing, harrying, box-crashing focal point.

Hunger over hype

Ask Hanson to define herself and she does not reach for the highlight reel.

"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."

That edge, that willingness to graft, is what she wants to bring into a Tottenham squad already stacked with technical quality.

"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."

Off the pitch, she has grown too. The Scotland forward has a degree in sports coaching and speaks like someone who now sees the game in wider angles.

Asked where she has developed most, she said: "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 maturity, combined with her numbers, is what makes this move so intriguing. Tottenham are not just signing last season’s form; they are betting on a player who believes there is still more to come.

Spurs open their WSL campaign at home to West Ham on 6 September. By then, the overseas arrivals may still dominate the conversation.

If Hanson hits the ground running in lilywhite, that conversation will not stay the same for long.