When whispers began circulating at the end of the summer that a number of high-profile United States women's national team players would be making their way to England, there was curiosity on both sides of the Atlantic as to what this might mean for the global game.
Several players had done stints in Europe before, of course, but the arrival of five of the 2019 World Cup winners' top stars -- Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Rose Lavelle, Christen Press, and Sam Mewis -- to England was a marked difference to previous moves that had drawn criticism and even seen national team careers threatened.