Everton's strategic summer signings of Yuka Momiki and academy graduate Ruby Mace had a significant ripple effect across the Women's Super League, notably impacting Leicester City's fortunes. These key transfers, occurring before the 2025-26 season, are now seen as a crucial factor in Leicester's subsequent struggles, which culminated in a relegation play-off.

Leicester City Women faced a dire 2025-26 season, marked by nine consecutive Women's Super League defeats and a mere 10 goals scored. Their 7-0 thrashing by Arsenal confirmed their bottom-place finish, leading to a crucial play-off to avoid immediate demotion. This dramatic downturn followed a season where they achieved a record 20 points, a stark contrast attributed in part to the loss of vital players.

The departures of Yuka Momiki and Ruby Mace to Everton were highlighted as significantly weakening Leicester's squad. Momiki, a key player, and Mace, an academy graduate, represented not just talent but also depth and future potential that Leicester could ill afford to lose. Their move to Everton left a void that the Foxes struggled to fill.

Further compounding Leicester's challenges, manager Amandine Miquel departed just 10 days before the season began, despite having two years left on her contract. This left the club scrambling for a replacement, eventually bringing in former West Ham assistant Rick Passmoor. While Passmoor reportedly improved team morale, it did not translate into on-field success, with the team failing to win away from home in the WSL for two seasons.

BBC Radio Leicester reporter Zoe McGrady noted that despite improved dressing room mood under Passmoor, as told by Hannah Cain, the results did not follow. This disconnect between internal morale and external performance underscores the deep-seated issues that plagued the club throughout the season, exacerbated by the early player departures.

Leicester now faces a one-off play-off on Saturday, 23 May, against the third-placed team from the Women's Super League 2. This opportunity for redemption arises due to the WSL's expansion from 12 to 14 teams for the 2026-27 season. However, the prospect of a 'double relegation' – following the men's team's drop to League One – looms large, described as a 'complete PR disaster' by McGrady, underscoring the severity of the club's unraveling season, influenced by key player movements like those to Everton.