Kerys Harrop signs contract extension with Spurs Women through 2023

The WSL season is over, but Contract Extension Season is still well underway. Tottenham Hotspur Women made another big step to keep (at least most) of the band together, announcing this morning that defender Kerys Harrop has extended her Tottenham Hotspur contract for an additional year through the end of the 2022-23 season, with an option for a further year.

Harrop, 31, is one of the league’s most experienced players. She spent most of her career at Birmingham City Women where she was club captain, but left last summer to join Rehanne Skinner’s rebuilding project. While known as a central defender at Birmingham, this season she has been a regular starter for Tottenham, playing mostly as a defensive fullback on the opposite side of Ashleigh Neville.

Harrop’s signing is another strong indication that Skinner is planning to ride with the defense that brought Spurs Women to the place they are at present. Spurs’ defense was their major strength this season — they allowed the fourth fewest goals of any WSL club, just one back from Manchester United and Manchester City. With Harrop’s new contract, all four of Spurs’ back line starters have signed new deals to keep them at the club in the short to medium term — Neville, keeper Becky Spencer, and CB Shelina Zadorsky all signed their own extensions this spring, and Molly Bartrip still has one year to go on her existing two year deal when she signed from Reading last summer.

This means that Spurs intend to build around their defensive core, and Harrop is a big part of that plan. In a statement on Tottenham’s website, Harrop said that the club’s ambition matches hers and that she’s very happy to be a part of the club.

“I’m excited. There’s a fantastic group of girls here - we’ve got a really good team spirit and culture. The Club is going in the right direction and it’s a direction that matches my own values.

“You can see how much the Club as a whole is investing in the women’s team, it’s fantastic really.

“It’s amazing to see how far the game has come in the last ten years. We want to keep challenging with the top teams and hopefully, one day we will achieve a Champions League spot.”