Eder Meister: The City of London appoints a new manager

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport’s women’s football correspondent

The London City Lionesses wanted a coach who could help develop and consistently deliver a unique style of football.

They were influenced by Spanish football and its success, as well as the aggressive style that helped bring eight Women’s Champions League titles to Lyon – a club also owned by wealthy businesswoman Michelle Kang.

A shortlist of coaches was drawn up when they decided to replace former manager Jocelyn Preshore and they did not rule some out of the men’s game.

The main criteria revolved around playing style, the coach’s ability to collaborate with a broader team of experience and a proven track record in developing talented players and youth.

Meestre has shown his potential with Spanish clubs Tenerife, Real Sociedad and London City and believes he can become a future leading figure in the game.

The City of London, led by CEO Martin Siemens, is working on a long-term project to achieve its goals of reaching European competition by 2026.

This is an ambitious target for the club who have been promoted to the Premier League for the first time this season, their decision to replace Preshore with Meister may have been premature but they were willing to take the risk and will be judged on that with their machinations.