Manchester United have signed goalkeeper Janina Leitzig from Leicester City on a three-year deal, the club confirmed on 24 July 2026.

United triggered a release clause — a fixed fee written into a player's contract that allows another club to sign them without negotiation — in the 27-year-old's Leicester deal. The transfer fee itself was not disclosed, BBC Sport reported.

Leitzig is United's second signing of the summer, following the arrival of defender Andrea Medina. She will wear the number 25 shirt.

"It is a real honour to be a Manchester United player," Leitzig said. She also pointed to the quality already in the building, describing herself as joining "a really excellent group of goalkeepers."

Her path to Old Trafford has been anything but a straight line. Leitzig spent three years at Leicester, initially arriving on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich — one of the biggest clubs in the German women's game. That loan became permanent, and she went on to make almost 70 appearances for Leicester across all competitions. Leicester renewed her contract in 2025, but a release clause meant United could prise her away without Leicester having a say in the matter.

The 2024-25 season was a difficult one for Leicester. They were relegated from the Women's Super League — the top division of women's football in England — leaving players at a crossroads. For Leitzig, the drop to the second tier clearly was not part of the plan, and United's interest gave her a route back to the top flight.

United's pursuit was a long time in the making. BBC Sport first reported the club's contact with Leitzig back in 2023, while she was still on loan at Leicester. Three years on, the chase is over.

A former Germany youth international, Leitzig brings experience from both the Bundesliga and the WSL. She has been a reliable presence between the posts for Leicester, and at 27 she is entering what most goalkeepers consider their prime years — old enough to have banked hundreds of hours of match action, young enough that a three-year contract runs through the heart of her career.

For United, it is a statement of intent in a summer where squad-building is clearly underway. Two signings in, Marc Skinner's side — Skinner manages United's women's team — are reshaping their defence and goalkeeping ranks before the new season kicks off.

For Leitzig, it is the biggest move of her career and a return to the top table of English football. For Leicester fans, it is the price of relegation: your best players leave, and release clauses mean you cannot even set the price.