Manchester City goalkeeper Eve Annets has joined Hibernian on loan for the 2026/27 season, subject to SFA approval and international clearance.
The 20-year-old moves to Scotland after spending last season with Crystal Palace, where she was part of the squad that secured promotion to the Women’s Super League.
Hibernian finished fourth in the Scottish Women’s Premier League last season and are looking to close the gap to the teams above them. Annets will provide head coach Joelle Murray with additional competition in goal while continuing a development route that has already included loans in two different levels of English football.
Transfer Snapshot
- Player: Eve Annets
- Age: 20
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Parent club: Manchester City
- Loan club: Hibernian
- Loan length: 2026/27 season
- Previous clubs: Reading, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace
- Portsmouth appearances: 11
- International level: England Under-19s
- Hibernian’s previous league finish: Fourth in the SWPL
- Status: Subject to SFA approval and international clearance
A Third Loan Since Joining Manchester City
Annets signed a four-year Manchester City contract after leaving Reading in the summer of 2024. She spent the first half of her debut season as a City player on loan at Portsmouth, making 11 appearances before returning to Manchester. That spell gave her an early taste of regular senior football away from the academy environment.
Eve Annets was subsequently part of City’s squad for the inaugural World Sevens tournament in 2025 before joining Crystal Palace for the entire 2025/26 campaign.
Palace went on to win promotion to the WSL, exposing Annets to the expectations and pressure surrounding a successful promotion challenge.
Her move to Hibernian creates a different test. She will need to adapt to Scottish football while competing for minutes in a side that wants to improve on its fourth-place finish.
What Annets Can Bring to Hibernian
Murray described Eve Annets as composed, brave and physical, while also highlighting the goalkeeper’s reflexes.
Those qualities should make her capable of competing for a place immediately, although her loan will only produce its intended value if she receives meaningful match exposure.
Training with Manchester City has allowed Annets to work in an elite environment. Hibernian’s role is to give her the opportunity to apply those lessons under competitive pressure.
“She’s coming from a top-class environment at Manchester City, where she’s been training day to day with some of the best players in the game,” Murray said.
“That experience is invaluable, and we’re looking forward to helping her continue her development here at Hibs.”
For Hibernian, the signing adds quality and competition without requiring a permanent transfer. For City, it provides another opportunity to assess Annets outside their own training ground.
International Promise Still Needs Club Minutes
Eve Annets has represented England at Under-19 level and kept clean sheets in each of her first three youth international appearances, against Denmark, Greece and Czechia.
That start demonstrated her potential within England’s goalkeeper pathway. Continued progress will depend heavily on the amount and quality of club football she receives.
Young goalkeepers often need several loans because first-team opportunities are more difficult to distribute than they are for outfield players. A substitute goalkeeper can spend an entire campaign in a senior squad without receiving enough minutes to develop decision-making, communication and penalty-area authority. Annets’ move to Scotland is designed to avoid that stagnation.
A Loan With Value for Both Clubs
Hibernian are not simply providing minutes for a Manchester City player. They are signing a goalkeeper who has already played at senior level and spent a season inside a promotion-winning squad. Annets, meanwhile, joins a club with its own competitive targets.
A strong season could help Hibernian improve on fourth place while moving Annets closer to the point where Manchester City must make a more definitive decision about her future.
Portsmouth gave her an introduction to senior football. Crystal Palace exposed her to a promotion campaign. Hibernian now offer the chance to turn those experiences into a sustained role in a new competition.
Source: Hibernian
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