The lowdown on Madison Haley

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The forward joined us earlier in the transfer window from Sydney.

Richie Mills

2023-09-08T06:00:00Z

Madison Haley joined us after winning the league with Sydney FC last season.

Madison Haley is a “relentless” attacking threat who could be the fox in the box Brighton need.

That is according to National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) journalist Theodore Hughes, who has followed the American striker’s progress since 2019 and believes the 24-year-old will be an exciting addition for the Seagulls following her move from Sydney FC in July.

Haley helped the Australian side win the league title earlier this year, scoring 11 goals and bagging four assists in 15 appearances. While it may take time to adapt from the W-League to the WSL, Hughes says the Albion have a dynamic player on their hands.

“Haley is a goalscorer. She is a forward who is pretty relentless and switched on," he said. "She's really good at turning half-chances into goals, whether that is pressuring a slight miss-hit pass along the opposition's defence, chasing a hopeful through ball from a teammate, or reacting first to a second ball from a cross that wasn't cleared.

“In addition to good anticipation and finishing from close range, she's also very good in one-on-one situations. She's a confident dribbler who wants to beat the goalkeeper.”

Haley made her name at Stanford University’s side, Stanford Cardinal – a team she played for between 2017-21 after earning a scholarship there.

While injuries and COVID-19 curtailed her game time, she won two National Championships while at the university and was very effective when given a chance to shine - no more so than in 2019.

“At Stanford, the team was incredibly successful. That year (2019) she scored 11 goals and incredibly assisted 14 other goals for a total goal contribution of 25 goals in 23 games,” Hughes said.

“During her time at Stanford, she played with some of the best players in the world (Naomi Girma, Cat Macario and Sophia Smith) so she's used to sharing the load and being a team player.

“She's not a selfish player and that could bode well if she needs to be a different type of forward. However, injuries and COVID-19 took away a lot of the next few seasons and she never quite reached the peak form from 2019.

“She focused on getting a master’s degree (Sustainability Science & Practice) before going to Australia in 2022. Once she got to Sydney, it was the old Madison Haley again. This time she was more of the star, she was a consistent goalscorer as Sydney won the league title.”

The forward was one of three new signings from Sydney FC, with Mackenzie Hawkesby and Charlie Rule also joining.

The Dallas-born striker, whose father played in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys and her mother still teaches, was drafted by the NWSL in 2021 with Chicago but opted not to go professional and focus on her master’s.

After passing that academic test and excelling on the pitch with Sydney, now she is preparing for life in the WSL, which for Brighton gets underway on October 1 at Everton. From there, the task will be trying to translate the form she showed in Australia to England.

“She's been incredibly dominant for Sydney FC with an average of a goal or assist every 65 minutes,” added Hughes. “I would be surprised if she could keep that up in the WSL but I do think her coming to the WSL after just one professional season in Australia means there could be an adjustment period.

“Similarly, in Sydney, she's scored a lot from in the box and set pieces. That presence and definitive chance-taking is her strength. But we haven't seen too much from her scoring outside the box or taking on players in the middle third or on the wings. She's been a proper central threat, running towards goal.

“She's really taken off as a number nine or centre forward in Sydney, mostly in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. It would be interesting to see how she could play with another centre forward or if she could play wider and cut in."