Manchester City Set to Sign US Midfielder Sam Coffey from Portland Thorns

Manchester City is reportedly finalizing a transfer deal with the Portland Thorns to sign United States midfielder Sam Coffey, according to multiple sources confirmed by ESPN.

The base transfer fee is anticipated to be at least $800,000, with potential performance-related add-ons that could raise the total amount. Coffey is expected to travel to Manchester shortly, having already agreed on personal terms.

Notably, Coffey was omitted from the USWNT’s January training camp roster announced last Thursday, which includes only players from the NWSL, except for the out-of-contract Trinity Rodman.

Sources indicate that Manchester City has shown interest in Coffey for several months. One insider emphasized that Coffey’s motivation for the move is primarily her desire to play in Europe, rather than financial incentives.

Manchester City has been actively seeking to strengthen its midfield since last summer and has been patient in searching for the right defensive midfielder. Currently, the club is six points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Women’s Super League table and is pursuing its first league title since 2016.

Coffey, who has been under contract with Portland until the end of the 2027 NWSL season, was initially reported by The Guardian to be in advanced negotiations with Manchester City. She is a 2024 Olympic gold medalist and has established herself as a regular starter for the USWNT under head coach Emma Hayes.

As the captain of the Portland Thorns, Coffey played a pivotal role in leading her team to a third-place finish in the NWSL last season and the semifinals of the NWSL playoffs. Her professional career has been exclusively with Portland since being selected 12th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft. After returning to Penn State for her final NCAA season, eligible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she turned professional and joined Portland in 2022, where she quickly achieved success.

Coffey joined the USWNT for World Cup and Olympic qualifying as an injury replacement, although she ultimately did not make the final squad for the 2023 World Cup. While she previously played as an attacking midfielder in her youth, she has transitioned to a deep-lying, holding midfielder role in her professional career.

In a 2025 anonymous survey conducted by ESPN, one NWSL general manager remarked, “I think Sam Coffey should be in the top five in the Ballon d’Or. If Sam Coffey were Spanish, she would have been. For some reason, we all have our cultural expectations of players from specific countries. But she’s a player that probably can even offer more than what she’s offering, and she’s already offering a lot.”