Kirsty Hanson: Tottenham's Quiet Signing with Potential

Kirsty Hanson’s name has not dominated the headlines this summer. It probably should.

While the Women’s Super League has welcomed a string of big overseas signings, Tottenham may have pulled off the sharpest move of the window by prising the Scotland forward away from Aston Villa. No fanfare, no drama. Just the quiet arrival of last season’s third-highest scorer.

Twelve goals in 22 league games for a side that finished ninth. Only Khadija Shaw and Alessia Russo found the net more often. That is not a purple patch. That is elite output in a struggling team.

Now she is in north London, tasked with turning Spurs’ growing ambition into something more tangible.

From low on confidence to Villa talisman

Hanson’s surge into the spotlight felt sudden last season, but it was years in the making.

She had already helped Manchester United build their women’s team into a serious professional outfit, only to then hit a wall when regular minutes dried up. By the time Villa took her on loan in 2022, she needed a reset.

Confidence was low. The talent wasn’t.

Villa handed her games, responsibility and belief. She responded with 26 goals in 100 appearances, two player-of-the-season awards and a reputation as one of the league’s most relentless 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. “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 that behind was never going to be easy.

“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.

One factor tipped the balance.

“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.”

Reunion with a coach who “gets the best” from her

Hanson and Martin Ho know each other well. He was assistant coach at Manchester United between 2020 and 2023, and he has wasted no time making her a central piece of his Tottenham rebuild.

He identified her as a key target. The club backed him, paying an undisclosed fee to get the deal done.

“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 said.

That detail will matter at a club trying to crash the WSL’s established order.

Tottenham finished fifth last season. Respectable, but not enough for a squad now openly chasing a top-three spot and a place in the Women’s Champions League.

“The signings Tottenham have made shows they really want to push on and win things. I want to achieve that while I'm here,” she added.

Pre-season under Ho has underlined the shift.

“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.”

Numbers that back up the hype

Strip away the emotion and look at the data. Hanson’s impact at Villa was enormous.

Last term she scored 43% of Villa’s league goals. Almost half of everything they produced. Among the WSL’s top five scorers, she had the best shots-on-target ratio at 50%, a ruthless edge in front of goal that Tottenham badly need if they are to turn promise into points.

She did not just finish moves. She built them.

Only two Villa players created more chances than her 16. She had the most touches in the opposition box. She worked as creator, finisher and first line of defence.

Her defensive output matched her attacking numbers. Among players in her position, she ranked near the top for key defensive actions such as tackles and interceptions. Hanson pressed, harried and chased, the kind of forward who drags a team up the pitch through sheer effort.

“I might not be the most talented but I've got a lot of fight and hunger in me,” she said. “I literally run through a brick wall for my team. Hopefully I've showed them that.”

A stronger squad – and a harder fight for minutes

Hanson is not walking into a comfort zone.

Tottenham have added West Ham’s top scorer Shekiera Martinez, France defender Alice Sombath from Lyon and creative midfielder Victoria Pelova from Arsenal. This is a squad being built to compete, not to make up the numbers.

It means the battle for starting places will be fierce. Hanson welcomes it.

“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.

“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.”

That mix of self-critique and experience is no accident. Off the pitch, Hanson has completed a degree in sports coaching and talks like someone who understands the game beyond her own role.

Asked where she has developed most, she pointed to her game intelligence and leadership.

“I know what to do at different points in the game. I know how to calm players down,” she said. “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.”

A quiet signing with loud potential

Tottenham open their WSL season at home to West Ham on 6 September. The spotlight will fall on the new arrivals, the tactical tweaks, the club’s push towards the Champions League spots.

Hanson will not be the flashiest name on the teamsheet. She rarely is.

But if her Villa form carries over to north London, if Ho again unlocks the version of her that terrorised defences last season, Tottenham’s most important signing of the summer might be the one who slipped in almost unnoticed.

If she delivers, nobody will be overlooking her – or Spurs – for long.