Atlético Madrid rejected a bid of more than £500,000 from Manchester City for the Spain midfielder Fiamma Benítez on the Women’s Super League’s transfer deadline day, the Guardian can reveal.
The WSL champions are understood to have tried hard to add attacking-midfielder reinforcements before the English summer window closed on Thursday at 11pm BST, largely in light of news that their No 10 Vivianne Miedema could be out for at least the rest of 2026 with a knee injury.
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However, Atlético are understood to view Benítez as a key player and a future national team star and were not prepared to let the 22-year-old go. In 2022 Benítez helped Spain win the Under-19 Euros and Under-20 Women’s World Cup and she helped her country win the 2024 Women’s Nations League.
City then made an even later move for Everton’s Spain international Ornella Vignola, who can play in midfield or on the wing. A bid of about £400,000 is understood to have been turned down by Everton, largely because they felt they would not have time to source a suitable replacement but also because of Vignola’s importance to Scott Phelan’s side.
It was also widely reported that City attempted to bring in the Nigeria midfielder Jennifer Echegini from Paris Saint-Germain, but multiple sources have told the Guardian that PSG made clear they were not willing to sell the 25-year-old. PSG had agreed to sell the France defender Élisa De Almeida to Arsenal for a fee believed to be just over £500,000, and they were not prepared to lose two key players in one day.
City completed one deadline-day deal, bringing in England’s Anna Moorhouse on loan from Orlando Pride until the end of January, adding good-quality depth to their goalkeeping ranks after Khiara Keating moved to Liverpool on a free in July.
Although City were left scrambling unsuccessfully for a midfielder on Thursday, it was a positive summer for the club, not least because they began the summer with their most important deal, retaining the services of the WSL’s Golden Boot winner Khadija Shaw with a lucrative new contract . Andrée Jeglertz’s side begin their title defence at home to promoted Birmingham City on Sunday.
Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal will discover their Women’s Champions League league phase opponents on Friday, with the draw due to begin at 11am BST.
• On Friday at 1pm Suzanne Wrack will be answering readers’ questions about the new WSL season for Guardian Conversations
The WSL champions are understood to have tried hard to add attacking-midfielder reinforcements before the English summer window closed on Thursday at 11pm BST, largely in light of news that their No 10 Vivianne Miedema could be out for at least the rest of 2026 with a knee injury.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Tom Garry. Published 4 Sept 2026, 09:09 am.
