Manchester City failed to land Spain pair in scramble for Miedema cover

• Atlético rejected £500,000-plus bid for Fiamma Benítez

• Arsenal handed difficult Champions League draw

Atlético Madrid rejected a bid of more than £500,000 from Manchester City for the Spain midfielder Fiamma Benítez on the Women’s Super League’s transfer deadline day, the Guardian can reveal.

The WSL champions are understood to have tried hard to add attacking-midfielder reinforcements before the English summer window closed on Thursday at 11pm BST, largely in light of news that their No 10 Vivianne Miedema could be out for at least the rest of 2026 with a knee injury.