Gracie Pearse signs for Spurs Women

We are delighted to announce the signing of Gracie Pearse.

The 18-year-old defender has signed a contract with the Club until 2023 with the option to extend for a further year and will rejoin FA Women’s Championship side Crystal Palace on loan for the 2021/22 season, where she made seven appearances in all competitions last year.

An England Under-21 international, Gracie arrives after 10 years in the Arsenal academy where she made two senior appearances for the Gunners.

Gracie said: “I’m really excited to come to Spurs – it means a lot to me because I come from a family of Tottenham fans, so that makes this opportunity even more special. My dad supported me in getting into football when I was very young and I just enjoyed it so much – I discovered what it was like to play in a girls’ team and it really drove me on to want to be the best player I can possibly be. My dad is a huge fan of this Club so deep down, I always knew it was meant to be that I would eventually become a Spurs player – it gives me huge pride to represent my dad and the rest of my family in that way. I associate the Club with him which motivates me even further as a player to want to represent the Club to my full potential. It’s not just because we’re Spurs fans though – I’m excited to be here because I really do believe that Spurs will be moving in the right direction towards the top of the WSL in the coming seasons and I want to be a part of it. Being at Crystal Palace will be very important for me initially. I really enjoyed it there last season and by splitting my training time between here and Palace and hopefully getting some more game time with them, I’ll be getting the best of both worlds at this stage of my career. This is only a step towards what I want to achieve in my career and I will continue to strive towards these goals with the great platform Spurs is providing for me. I can’t wait to get started.”

Head Coach Rehanne Skinner said: “Gracie has had experience at England youth level and she’s shown a lot of potential and promise during her career so far. As a Club, we want to nurture young players and help them to gain the experience that they need, so in Gracie’s case that will involve her gaining match minutes in a loan capacity at Crystal Palace initially, while we monitor and support her very closely. It’s all with a view to developing her game and helping her to play senior matches in preparation for the future. She’s really open to learning, she’s got a great attitude and that will stand her in good stead for what’s to come. We’re really pleased that she’s now a Spurs player.”