London City Lionesses: Jana Fernández is helping to build the rising WSL club’s next exciting chapter

London City Lionesses: Jana Fernández is helping to build the rising WSL club’s next exciting chapter After arriving from Barcelona looking for a new chapter, Jana Fernández is helping shape London City Lionesses’ next one. Fernández spent more than a decade at Barcelona. She joined the academy at 12, came through La Masia and eventually made her first team debut as a teenager. By the time she left in 2025, she had won five league titles and three Champions League trophies. Barcelona had been home for most of her life. Then came London. The move was a reset. New country, different league. A new style of play. Fernández embraced it. “I think I’m developing some parts of my game different than the ones I had before, the ones that I was taught in the past,” she said ahead of London City’s recent trip to Charlton. “I’m being a bit more mature in my game and knowing which are the different scenarios that before maybe I wouldn’t face that much.” That growth has happened quickly. Jana Fernández’s impact on London City Embed from Getty Images Last season, Fernández played all 22 of London City’s WSL matches. She started 21 games and logged 1,902 minutes. Jana also recorded 40 tackles won, 33 interceptions and 53 crosses. She was not simply adjusting to English football but was becoming one of London City’s most dependable players. Their supporters recognised it too, as Fernández was voted the club’s Fans’ Player of the Season. Now, she has signed a new contract that keeps her in London until 2029. The timing feels significant because the club she joined is changing fast. From Barcelona to London Fernández arrived in London with an impressive résumé. She had experienced the demands of elite football from a young age and has already played alongside some of the biggest names in the game. London City offered a different challenge. At Barcelona, Fernández was part of a pre-existing footballing culture. In London, she was given the chance to be a part of a club still building one. That meant learning to adapt. It also meant learning to defend in a different way. Embed from Getty Images “As a Barca player, we used to have a lot more of the possession,” Fernández said. “Something that here is a bit more tight to have.” The difference has been especially noticeable without the ball. “Maybe before I would face one or two defensive actions at Barcelona. Now I have like 15 or 20 per game,” she said. It has forced her to become more alert. More complete. She has had to learn when to step up. When to hold. How to anticipate the transition before it arrives. All while enjoying the process. “I’m happy that I’m learning some new things,” she said. “Also learning a lot from the teammates I have next to me because some of them have a lot of experience and they can help me improve a lot as a player.” Embed from Getty Images The evolution of London City Lionesses While Fernández stayed, the club changed around her. From players like Teyah Goldie’s departure to Alexia Putellas’ arrival, London City have brought in players with enormous experience. For Fernández, their arrival has added another layer to the story. “It feels incredible,” she said of playing with them again. “It’s just knowing where they are without looking at them, knowing where they’re going to be, knowing which movements we used to do that was working for us.” That familiarity matters. Fernández is also clear that the club cannot simply become a collection of individual connections. It has to become a team. “We’re also building it all together,” she said. While London City can bring in established players, they also need to form an identity. One that comes from within and unites. Fernández has now experienced both sides of that process. She once arrived as the new player. Now she is helping others understand what it means to be part of London City. Embed from Getty Images “I’m also trying to explain to all these girls what we are trying to build here,” Fernández said. “Every person that comes in is trying to build this all together because it’s a building process.” That is what makes Fernández’s role so interesting. She remembers a London City before the big summer arrivals. Now, the expectations are different but so is the football. “Since I joined, everything is changing. That’s a good thing. Everything is improving.” She pointed to the club’s developing infrastructure, its new signings and the evolution of the team’s football. Most noticeably, she sees the biggest difference on the pitch. “I think this season we had a big improvement on the way we play from last season,” she said. “Obviously the ideas were there, but I think we’re more ready now to be able to put them to work.” Jana Fernández’s growth in the Women’s Super League Embed from Getty Images That evolution is happening alongside her own. Last season taught Fernández how to survive in the WSL. This season is asking her to take another step. Her statistics tell part of the story but minutes tell another. Fernández’s influence is increasingly visible in the spaces between them. She is becoming someone who can connect the club’s past with its future. That is particularly valuable in a squad bringing together players from different footballing cultures. Fernández understands the challenge. “Some of us come from different cultures, different teams,” she said. “It’s important to have those players that can tell us what London City is.” Jana does not want that identity to be dictated by one group, she wants everyone involved. “We have to play as a team,” she said. “There’s a lot of foreign players, well, English players and foreign players that we have to mesh together and gel.” It sounds simple but is far from it. Especially when expectations are rising. Embed from Getty Images Fernández is still only 24. That makes her position even more intriguing. She has already experienced the highest levels of European football. She has also experienced what it means to start again somewhere unfamiliar. Now she has both perspectives, and London City are giving her time. Her new deal runs until 2029. It is a long-term commitment from a player who has already become important to the club. It is also a chance for Fernández to keep developing in an environment that she believes is moving in the right direction. “I think I’m in the right place to do so,” she said. That might be the simplest way to understand her decision to stay. She is not simply looking backward at what she achieved at Barcelona. London City are building something new. Fernández is too. She arrived in England as a Barcelona academy product trying to find her footing in a different league. A year later, she is no longer simply finding her place. She is helping decide what that place becomes. Related articles from Her Football Hub: Could London City Lionesses shake up an unpredictable WSL season? WSL: Will the 2026/27 season be the most competitive yet for title, Champions League and survival? WSL: Are London City Lionesses challenging the energy of football royalty Barcelona?