Alex Morgan will return to US after five-game spell with Tottenham

Tottenham have announced that Alex Morgan will leave the club and return to the United States in the new year. The USA striker joined from Orlando Pride in September in an effort to regain fitness and improve her chances of a place in the national team squad for the Olympics after giving birth to a daughter in May.

The 31-year-old made her long-awaited debut against Reading in early November and played the full 90 minutes just once, in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa

which proved to be her final match for the club. Sunday’s trip to Chelsea was postponed due to an outbreak of coronavirus in the home team’s camp, before the league entered its winter break.

Morgan’s future beyond Christmas had always been up in the air, with the club leaving any decision on a return to the US in the hands of the forward, who moved to England with her daughter Charlie and mother-in-law before being joined by her husband and fellow professional footballer Servando Carrasco on conclusion of the United Soccer League in which he plays.

Morgan leaves with only five appearances and two goals from her time in London. However she reached full fitness, elevated the profile of the Tottenham women’s team and had a big impact off the pitch.

A Tottenham statement read

“We can confirm that Alex Morgan will be returning to the United States in the new year after the conclusion of the first half of the FA Women’s Super League season.”

Morgan is expected to rejoin Orlando after they retained her rights to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Morgan said: “I will be forever grateful to the club, my teammates and Spurs supporters for taking such good care of me and my family.

From the moment I arrived in London I realised I was part of a first-class organisation, one that helped provide me the opportunity to immerse myself back into the game I love. Thank you to everyone who helped make this chapter in my soccer journey so special … COYS.”

Tottenham’s head of women’s football, Heather Cowan, added: “We were delighted at the start of the season when Alex chose us as her club to help regain fitness and take her first steps back into competitive football after giving birth earlier this year.

“It has been a pleasure to have Alex with us during this period and the whole squad has taken a lot from working every day with someone at the top of the women’s game. We wish Alex all the best for the future both at club and international level as she prepares to return back home with her family. She will always be welcome here at Spurs.”