Canberra United officials face a busy eight weeks as they attempt to fill up to half their squad before the start of the upcoming A-League Women's season.
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The side has suffered significant turnover throughout the winter, with a host of players departing the club. Grace Maher, Laura Hughes, Grace Jale, Kennedy Faulknor and We Chengshu headline the list of players who won't return for the 2023-24 campaign.
While skipper Michelle Heyman is back for her 12th season with Canberra United and youngsters Ruby Nathan and Tegan Bertolissio have signed with the team, roughly half the roster remains open just eight weeks out from the start of the season.
The sheer volume of departures has forced Canberra United coach Njegosh Popovich to scour the domestic and international talent pool for players.
The mentor has placed an emphasis on young, exciting talent as the side looks to play a fast-paced, attacking style of soccer.
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Nathan was the most recent to sign for the club, the 17-year-old one of the most promising strikers in New Zealand.
Heyman can't wait to work with the youngster and she's eager to mentor the next generation of players throughout the season.
"[The squad's] looking a little fresh at the moment, which is really nice," Heyman said during a visit to National Zoo and Aquarium on Monday.
"It's sad to see Grace Maher and Laura Hughes leave because they've been in the squad for a long time, but I'm proud of them doing something different, changing it up and seeing what's best for themselves personally.
"We're all trying to build our personal careers and what they brought to Canberra was something truly special. What Njegosh has been doing is trying to find similar players to replace them. We're really looking forward to the new ones coming in."
While such roster turnover is not unusual, the delay in signing players could have a flow on effect throughout the opening weeks of the team's campaign.
Canberra United will commence pre-season next week and play a trial game against Western Sydney in Forbes on September 23. The late arrivals will have a limited amount of time to prepare for the side's round one clash with Adelaide on October 15.
The situation isn't ideal, but Heyman is confident they will hit the ground running this season.
"We've got an extra week [of pre-season] than what we did last year," she said.
"So our pre-season's longer, the season's longer, I feel like we're going to have enough time to be able to bond and get everyone to be on the same page and get ready for round one."
Canberra United officials are eager to build on the back of the Matildas' success at the Women's World Cup, with early membership sales up on previous years.
Crowds in recent seasons have averaged 1000 spectators, with the side looking to top 3000 fans this year.
Heyman fondly remembers Canberra United's glory years, when thousands packed into home games to watch a title-winning side. She's confident the team will produce a playing style the public will enjoy.
"[Playing an entertaining style] is something we've always done," she said.
"We're a transitional team. We've got goals coming out of every pocket of every player within our squad, so I'm really looking forward to it. We play great football, we've got the likes of Chloe Lincoln in goals again, a young kid doing amazing things for us, so it's going to be really special."
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