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London City have signed 13 players this summer, including seasoned professionals and serial winners in Nikita Parris, Danielle van de Donk and Elena Linari to name just three.
Jana Fernandez was another eye-catching signing, with the 23-year-old joining from Barcelona.
As she did last summer, Kang is stating her intent before a ball has even been kicked. A post on X announcing Parris’ signing stated: “We didn’t come to play”.
It gives Precheur an impressive squad with which to compete in a league where every point and goal could mean the difference between thriving or battling relegation.
“These new players are essential for me on and off the pitch,” he said.
“I’m very happy the club decided to invest. We have a sporting director [Markel Zubizarreta] now in the club, so he’s really in charge of the recruitment.
“We knew after the Birmingham game we needed to be stronger. We don’t want to repeat the same story as Bristol City and Crystal Palace, and we know the gap is huge today between the WSL2 and the WSL.
“It’s about being the first one to jump on the train, because that’s what attracts other players to join as well. If you don’t get the right players, it would be more difficult to sign players.”
“The biggest challenge for me is we need to create a team and make them play together. But as a club, we need to create a culture of the high level, which didn’t exist when I arrived.
“We have a lot of energy, we have a very good dynamic but I know based on my previous experience, a high level requires more than that.
“So now, we are building the foundations, but it’s also the moment for us to start to focus on details. This is where I expect a lot from experienced players like Nikita, Danielle, Kosovare last season, and Saki [Kumagai] when she arrived.
“I know they will be very helpful for me to create the culture we need to perform at a high level during a long season in the WSL.”
So the players, manager and staff are in place, the club is well-supported financially and they have reached the pinnacle of the women’s game in England.
That just leaves the big question – can London City Lionesses stay up?
“Yes”, Asllani said simply, but confidently.
“We are a new team in the league, but we are not an inexperienced team. We have experienced players all over the squad.
“We have players winning the Champions League and playing in big tournaments with their countries.
“And we are London City Lionesses, we’re writing history. We’re not going to go down.”
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