Wednesday 22 February 2017 08:50, UK
After Manchester City captured the football world's imagination with the acquisition of Carli Lloyd, Jane Dougall reflects on what the signing means for the women's game.
For weeks now, it's been written in our diary that the England and Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott was coming into our studio today to talk about her trip to India for a community initiative in Calcutta as well as England's trip to America for the "She Believes Cup", which starts this weekend.
So when it was announced last week that Carli Lloyd had signed for City and would be playing alongside Jill, there were high fives all round!
Scott was very understanding that this would now form the basis of our interview - as an England midfielder, Jill had played against America and Lloyd on many occasions.
In fact, Scott told me she was glad she managed to meet Lloyd when she was signing for Manchester City because she said "I've kicked her a few times and I wanted to let her see I was actually a nice person!".
The signing of a two-time FIFA Player of the Year is a coup for Manchester City and the fact they managed to pull it off epitomises the club's ambition.
The story goes - confirmed by Jill Scott - that Carli Lloyd was on holiday in England and, as a Liverpool fan, had gone to a match at Anfield.
The Manchester City coach, Nick Cushing, got wind of this and emailed her to ask if she wanted to come and see Manchester City's facilities as she was in the area anyway.
Lloyd obliged and was so impressed with both the club and Cushing that she agreed in principal to play for them. What a great punt!
It helps of course that Manchester City are the only British club still in the Champions League and are the reigning domestic champions.
While Lloyd's success on the pitch has been substantial - two Olympic Gold medals and a hat-trick to win the 2015 World Cup final - it has been at an international level.
Surprisingly she's never won a domestic title and, playing in the NWSL, she isn't eligible for the Champions League, so the pull of potential trophies will have been strong for her. No details of a fee have been released, but it's probably fair to say that Lloyd won't have come cheap.
It is of course beneficial then for both Lloyd and City who have only been in existence for three seasons.
Some might argue that money has bought them the league and the temporary purchase of Lloyd may do the same for the Champions League, but you can't argue with the entrepreneurship of the head coach.
Lloyd coming to Manchester City is a pivotal moment for the WSL1.
A few Americans are playing in the league already, Crystal Dunn has signed for Chelsea and Heather O'Reilly has gone to Arsenal, but someone with the calibre of Lloyd will increase crowds, inspire young girls and potentially elevate Manchester City to become the best in Europe.
You can see catch up on the latest episode of Sportswomen On Demand.
