{"id":88027,"date":"2026-09-04T08:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88027\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:27:14","slug":"mckenna-departs-city-in-record-ninja-a-league-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88027\/","title":{"rendered":"McKenna\u00a0departs\u00a0City in record Ninja A-League transfer\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne City FC can confirm\u00a0Matildas\u00a0midfielder Leticia McKenna will\u00a0depart\u00a0the Club to join English side Nottingham Forest in a permanent transfer for a record-breaking fee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fee sets a new Australian benchmark for an outgoing transfer from the Ninja A-League, further highlighting the pathway Melbourne City continues to provide for players to develop and earn opportunities overseas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKenna joined City in September 2021 as a young player with significant potential and leaves as one of the most accomplished footballers in the Club\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Across five seasons in City blue, the midfielder made 114 appearances, placing her second on Melbourne City\u2019s all-time women\u2019s appearances list behind only Club great Rebekah Stott.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An influential and consistent presence in midfield, McKenna scored 16 goals during her time at City and played a key role in three consecutive Premiership-winning campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of her defining moments in City blue came earlier this year in the 2026 Ninja A-League Grand Final, when she scored a memorable long-range goal to help City secure the Championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Her performances at City also saw her\u00a0emerge\u00a0as one of the country\u2019s brightest midfield talents, earning her first\u00a0Matildas\u00a0cap earlier this year before scoring on debut against Malawi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKenna\u2019s impressive campaign was further recognised when she was named among the nominees for the PFA Young Women\u2019s Footballer of the Year award.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKenna\u2019s move is the latest example of City players earning opportunities on the world stage, with six members of the Club\u2019s 2025\/26 Premiership and Championship-winning squad now securing moves to Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melbourne City FC Director of Football Michael Petrillo said McKenna\u2019s journey was one the Club was incredibly proud of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLeticia arrived at Melbourne City as a young player who we believed could develop into an integral part of our team,\u201d Petrillo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see her leave as a Matilda, a Championship winner, second on our all-time women\u2019s appearances list and now as part of a record-breaking transfer for the league is something\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0extremely proud of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat journey is a credit to Leticia\u2019s talent, work\u00a0ethic\u00a0and the way she has embraced every opportunity in front of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHer move to Nottingham Forest is thoroughly deserved. It also reflects the standards our players are exposed to every day, and the work of our coaches and staff in helping talented young footballers fulfil their potential.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank Leticia for everything she has given to the Club and wish her every success as she takes the next step in her career in England.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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McKenna said she would always look back fondly on her time in City blue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese last five years at Melbourne City have been so special, and this Club will always feel like home to me,\u201d McKenna said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve\u00a0been lucky to share so many incredible moments with amazing teammates, coaches, staff and supporters, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0really proud\u00a0of everything we were able to achieve together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Rado to Dario and Michael,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had the privilege of learning from some incredible coaches who have helped me grow so much as a player and as a person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always be grateful for the opportunities Melbourne City has given me, and I\u2019ll be following the Club closely from afar.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne City FC can confirm\u00a0Matildas\u00a0midfielder Leticia McKenna will\u00a0depart\u00a0the Club to join English side Nottingham Forest in a permanent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[342,9896,260],"class_list":["post-88027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-a-league-women","tag-departure","tag-melbourne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}