Manchester United have completed the signing of Janina Leitzig from Leicester City for an undisclosed fee after meeting the goalkeeper’s release clause.
The 27-year-old has signed a contract until June 2029 and will wear the No.25 shirt. She leaves Leicester after making 69 appearances in all competitions following her arrival from Bayern Munich in January 2023.
United are not waiting to discover whether Leitzig can cope with the Women’s Super League. Three-and-a-half seasons in the competition have already answered that question. Her next challenge is establishing herself within what both the player and club describe as a strong goalkeeping group.
Transfer Snapshot
- Player: Janina Leitzig
- Age: 27
- Position: Goalkeeper
- From: Leicester City
- To: Manchester United
- Transfer status: Permanent transfer
- Contract: Until June 2029
- Transfer fee: Undisclosed
From Loan Signing to Leicester Mainstay
Janina Leitzig originally joined Leicester on loan from Bayern Munich in January 2023. Her impact was immediate enough to earn both the club’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards that season.
Leicester made the move permanent the following summer, and Leitzig remained a regular presence in their starting side. She leaves with 69 appearances across all competitions and more than 100 senior career matches overall.
Those three years in Leicester gave her something particularly valuable to Manchester United: extensive knowledge of the league she is joining them to compete in.
Leitzig has already faced WSL attacks, experienced the demands of English football and shown she can perform consistently across several seasons. United can therefore assess her against familiar opposition instead of relying on how performances in another league might translate.
Why Manchester United Wanted Leitzig
Manchester United director of women’s football Matt Johnson pointed to Leitzig’s experience, quality and ability to compete at the highest level when explaining the signing.
Her career has included UEFA Women’s Champions League football with Bayern Munich, followed by three seasons as an important player for Leicester. That combination gives United a goalkeeper familiar with both elite European surroundings and the weekly demands of the WSL.
Leitzig also arrives at an age when goalkeepers can combine experience with a significant part of their career still ahead of them. The contract until 2029 shows that United see this as more than a short-term addition.
Meeting her release clause reinforces that message. The club identified a goalkeeper already proven in the league and acted decisively to bring her into the squad.
Competition Without a Declared Hierarchy
Neither Manchester United nor Leitzig presented the move as an automatic claim to the starting position. Leitzig instead spoke about joining an “excellent group of goalkeepers” and wanting to push alongside them to maintain the club’s performance standards.
That language is important. United have added a goalkeeper that increases the competition across the department. Janina Leitzig will have to earn her place and with Phallon Tullis-Joyce as the first choice goalkeeper that won’t be easy. At the same time, her record means those already at United know they are being joined by someone capable of playing regularly in the WSL.
The signing therefore changes the environment before it changes the team sheet. Every goalkeeper in the group now faces greater pressure to maintain the level United expect.
A Different Test After Leicester
Leitzig’s time at Leicester established her reputation in English football. Manchester United will test how far that reputation can take her.
She arrives with Champions League experience, individual recognition and a substantial number of WSL appearances. Yet the move also brings new expectations, with Leitzig speaking immediately about helping United deliver a successful season.
Her first challenge will be winning the internal competition she has chosen to join. If she does, Manchester United will have secured a goalkeeper whose suitability for the league was established long before they triggered her release clause.
Source: Manchester United
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