Liverpool FC Women Confirm Departures of Jade Bailey, Meikayla Moore, And Rianna Dean

The unfortunate rumor Emma Sanders reported last week has come true: Liverpool FC Women confirmed the departure of five players on Monday.

Jade Bailey, Meikayla Moore, Rianna Dean, Charlotte Wardlaw, and Evie Smith all said goodbye to the Reds at the end of this season having concluded their contracts.

Bailey had spent the most time at the club of the five, having signed on in July 2019 from Chelsea. She wore the number 8 and wore it well, although only ever scoring one goal for Liverpool in time with the squad.

Meikayla Moore joined Liverpool just after they were relegated, joining from MSV Duisberg but having played with the New Zealand national team since the U17s. Her calm defending and occasional goals helped Liverpool secure promotion, not to mention her open advocacy for LGBTQIA+ issues helping to bring about this talk with Jürgen Klopp in support of the Rainbow Laces campaign.

Rianna Dean joined the club this previous summer, although largely missed the season through injury. Charlotte Wardlaw will return to Chelsea at the conclusion of her loan, having scored two goals in the campaign in 17 appearances, while Evie Smith - who came up through the Academy - will also say goodbye.

While these departures will make room for new signings that the club are already working on identifying, it will nonetheless be sad to see them go following a successful season for the Reds.

“I would like to thank all these players for their important contributions during their time with the club – whether in games, in training or just as valued members of the group,” manager Matt Beard said of the players leaving.

“It is the nature of the game that people move on but we have created special memories this season as a squad that will stay with us, and all of these players have been a part of that.

“I wish them every success in the future and we will be following their journeys at their new clubs with great interest and pride.”

Something about these losses doesn’t seem as acute as previous ones - maybe because they are necessary cuts to lead to potentially, hopefully, better signings.