Done Deal: Spurs Women announce signing of Reading defender Molly Bartrip

Tottenham Hotspur Women have a lot of work to do in the transfer window to improve their squad ahead of the new WSL season, especially after letting 11 players leave in the offseason. They’re working hard, however, and today announced their fourth new signing of the summer, welcoming 25-year old former Reading defender Molly Bartrip as their newest player. Bartrip has signed a two year contract.

Bartrip is a central defender and joins a defensive line anchored by Shelina Zadorsky and Kerys Harrop. She’s an experienced defender, with 21 appearances and 1800+ minutes for a Reading side that finished one spot and four points better than Spurs last season. She has seven years of WSL experience and has made over 100 appearances for Reading, where she spent the entirety of her professional career.

Bartrip also has a prior connection with Tottenham — she started her youth career at Spurs as a schoolgirl before moving on to have stints in the Charlton and Arsenal academies. She mentioned the impact Spurs had on her at an early age in a statement on Tottenham’s website.

“I’m excited to join Spurs – it’s a fresh start for me and I’m really looking forward to meeting the players, staff and fans. I can’t wait to get to know everyone in pre-season and then look to start the season strongly.

“I was at Reading for a long time, I grew up as a person and a footballer there but now I’m ready to move on into a different direction. I’m so excited to start here because it’s brand new for me, I’m coming out of my comfort zone and embracing new challenges. I want to get better, I want to develop as a player and I think I’ve got an amazing opportunity to do that here.

“In terms of my career, in a way I feel like I’ve come full circle now – my first ever girls’ team was Tottenham, I loved it and it’s where I fell in love with the game if I’m honest. It was where I realised that I wanted to go on to become a professional footballer and to come back now, I’m so proud at how far Tottenham has come as a Club and I’m ready to give my all to hopefully help to take us to the next level.”

Bartrip is joining a Tottenham side that has a lot of ambition but is still a relative newcomer to the WSL and has a lot to prove if it wants to match the goals it says it has. Experience counts for a lot in the WSL, and Bartrip has a ton of it. Her signing shows that Spurs head coach Rehanne Skinner is working on really building something in north London, even if the progress is slower than what impatient fans might want.

Welcome to Tottenham, Molly!