WSL Transfers: Deadline Day Round-up as Arsenal sign Australian World Cup star as Man Utd enjoy hectic day

With transfer fees inflating and a later than usual Women's World Cup, it was perhaps no surprise that Deadline Day in the WSL was one of the most exciting and hectic yet.

There were big moves galore across the top tier as teams scrambled to complete the missing pieces of the jigsaw ahead of the start of the new season, which gets underway on October 1.

The biggest transfer of deadline day came very late in the day with Arsenal confirming the purchase of Australian starlet Kyra Cooney-Cross just after midnight. The 21-year-old had just six months left on her contract at Hammarby but, with lots of interest in the midfielder, the Gunners big bid enabled them to nudge ahead of their rivals and grab one of the world's hottest midfield projects.

Manchester United were far and wide the most active of all the clubs in the women's top tier, with three incomings and four outgoings at Carrington - and there could be another to come if the paperwork was done in time with both clubs confident that Melvine Malard's loan move to United from Lyon was done, though the move did go to the wire.

Marc Skinner's side were able to bring in three big names signings yesterday though with the transfer or Irene Guerrero from Atletico Madrid confirmed early in the morning before they club reportedly met the £150,000 release clause for Everton and England's versatile defender Gabby George.

Just prior to that, Scotland striker Martha Thomas was allowed to depart the Red Devils as she completed a permanent transfer to Tottenham Hostpur in order to fill the gap left by the injured Beth England. Spurs also completed the loan move of Chinese international Zhang Linyan on loan from Wuhan as Cho So-Hyun departed to join Championship side Birmingham City on loan.

Late in the day, United also completed a 'record breaking' move for American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in a move that will see the 26-year-old move from NWSL side OL Reign. Mary Earps remained at the club despite strong interest from Arsenal earlier in the window.

United's teenage starlet Jess Simpson made a loan move to WSL newcomers Bristol City while Ivana Fuso completed a permanent transfer to Birmingham City on a hectic day for the red side of Manchester.

One goalkeeper that did leave the Red Devils though was Sophie Baggaley. Earps' understudy last year made a permanent move to Brighton and Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee where she will battle it out with loan signing Nicky Evrard who also joined the Seagulls on deadline day from Chelsea.

It was a pretty busy day for Brighton too following Evrard's arrival. The club confirmed that defender Zoe Morse has retired from football after decided she wanted to take her career in "another direction away from football", while 20-year-old midfielder Libby Bance completed a season long loan move to Scottish giants Rangers and Lulu Jarvis also moved out on loan, joining recently relegated Reading.

Finally, while most of Aston Villa's work had been done earlier in the window there was one outgoing from the Villains with Freya Gregory joining Brighton's Jarvis in moving to Reading on a season long loan.