How Jade Rose’s move to Manchester City could push her to take next step with CanWNT
One of the CanWNT’s brightest youngsters has finally taken her first steps into the professional game.
After wrapping up her fourth and final NCAA season with Harvard, Jade Rose has signed her first pro deal, as she joined WSL side Manchester City last week, putting pen to paper with the English giants on a four-year deal. 
Yet, this is unsurprising to see, as Rose has long shown to be capable of being someone who could one day play at the highest level. Having made her Canadian debut in 2021, before she’d even joined Harvard, she’s already amassed 30 caps for Canada at just 22 years of age, and looks set to add many more in the years to come.
There’s a reason why she earned her first Canadian senior call-up back in 2019, when she was just 16, as she’s shown immense potential since first bursting onto the scene at the youth levels for Canada at the end of the 2010s.
That she’s been able to develop as she has despite balancing a degree at one of the world’s hardest and most prestigious universities shows that, as you can’t say that she’s taken any shortcuts to get where she’s at today, on and off the field.
"I think that Man City offers an incredible opportunity for me to not only grow as a player and to challenge myself against world-class talent every single day," Rose told reporters while with the CanWNT this week.
On the field, though, she could be about to hit a new level with City, joining a club that finished fourth in the WSL last year, having also finished as runners-up in the League Cup.
Jade Rose, coming soon to the Joie! 🥹👋 pic.twitter.com/wR4MJ0D6AS
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) June 18, 2025
A City team that to date has just won one WSL title, coming back in 2016, this team wants to break the monopoly Chelsea has had in league play since 2019-2020, having won their sixth consecutive WSL crown this past season.
City have proven that they aren’t far off, finishing as WSL runners-up three times across that six-year Chelsea reign, while winning one FA Cup (2019-2020) and League Cup (2021-2022), but they know they’ve got a new level still to hit as a team.
For example, that they fell just 3-2 on aggregate to Chelsea in last year’s Champions League quarter-finals is not a bad sign, as they came within one goal of reaching their third European semi-final.
Because of that, it shows that Rose is joining a club on the cusp of taking that next step. Armed with top players across their squad, such as Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema, Alex Greenwood, Mary Fowler, Lauren Hemp, and Yui Hasegawa, among others, this team certainly has the pieces to take that next step.
Where they let themselves down in 2024-2025 was their defence, as they conceded 28 goals (the highest among teams in the top four), and allowed three goals in that eventual second-leg loss to Chelsea in the Champions League. Along with the two goals they conceded in their FA Cup semi-final loss to rivals Manchester United and the two goals they conceded in their League Cup final loss to Chelsea, that’s a big worry they wanted to address, as they'd often concede goals in big moments.
Our Rose is here 🌹🩵 pic.twitter.com/q5di2G7X7e
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) June 18, 2025
That’s where Rose slots in perfectly, however, as she’s proven that she’s got the ability to defend at the highest level. A tall defender at 5’10”, she’s also got excellent speed, which allows her to play extremely aggressively.
Through that, she’s been able to hold her own against several top attackers while playing for Canada, such as Australia’s Sam Kerr, France’s Kadidiatou Diani, Germany’s Lea Schüller, the US’s Jaedyn Shaw and Sophia Wilson, among many others, doing so as both as a centre back and full back. 
Rose's heatmap for the CanWNT - as seen, she's spent time both out wide and centrally (WyScout)
Just look at her numbers while playing for Canada to see how much that is true. There, across her 30 games, she’s averaging 14.26 duels per 90 (winning 61.4% of them), 3.86 interceptions, 9.39 recoveries and 2.03 clearances per 90. She’s not averaging a huge number of aerial duels, contesting just 1.83 of them per 90 (winning them at a 54.5% rate), but that’s not surprising to see, as she does her best work when playing aggressively, which allows her to contest ground duels and rack up interceptions, while also using her speed to sweep and snuff out dangerous through balls, hence the high number of recoveries.
For comparison, in college, she’s averaged around 13.84 duels (at a 62.7% win rate), 3.77 interceptions, 11.34 recoveries and 2.58 clearances per 90 in her Harvard career, showing that she’s done a good job of translating college dominance into what she does internationally, which isn’t always easy.
Plus, despite her success already on the defensive side of the game for Canada, she can only get better, given that she’s yet to consistently operate in a pro environment - one can only imagine what going up against two world-class strikers like Miedema and Shaw in City training regularly can now do for her development, as well as just the overall level of the WSL. She’s already got the tools and intelligence to defend at the highest level, but will now look to put that together on a more consistent basis.
Meanwhile, on the ball, she also brings a lot of value to the table, too, which is another thing City will be quite pleased with. For Canada, she averages 44.7 pass attempts per 90, completing 83.4% of them, including 4.63 long balls (at a 41.7% rate), 7.16 passes into the final third (at a 68.4% success rate), and 1.07 passes into the box per 90 (at a 56.3% rate), while also chipping in with 1.87 dribble attempts per 90 (at a 66.1% rate). 
Her pass map from her last 2 CanWNT starts, vs. Haiti (left) and vs. Argentina (right), via WyScout
As seen with her long ball numbers, she’ll want to improve her passing range, but she’s an excellent short and medium range passer, doing a great job of breaking lines with her passing.
GOAL🍁
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 6, 2022
It's Adriana Leon AGAIN- Jade Rose gets her first senior assist and what a run it is to put Canada ahead!
2-1 @CANWNT | #WeCAN
TUNE IN | 🔴https://t.co/7JFAUhgjL6 pic.twitter.com/6a6EcrYOVq
Plus, she’ll only get better on the ball as she adapts to that next level, as she was slightly more dominant on the ball in college, averaging 48.23 passes (at a 87.8% clip), including 5.54 long balls (at a 54.8% clip), 5.48 passes into the final third (at a 65.5% clip) and 1.03 passes into the box (at a 54% clip), along with 2.11 dribbles (at a 71.8% clip).
Yet, all those numbers show why City signed her, as they know that she’s got all of the tools to be a dominant modern centre back, one that can bring a lot of value to a team on both sides of the ball. For a team that wants to improve their defensive line, Rose can certainly help them do that in the short term, while offering them a pillar to build around long term, which is why they likely signed her through 2029.
Now, of course, as she gets set to take a massive step forward at the club level, she’ll look to translate that into her play with Canada, where she’s now arguably already become a nailed-on starter despite being one of the youngest players on the team. Just look at Canada’s latest squad for their friendlies vs. Costa Rica and the US over the next week, as Rose is the fifth-youngest player in that squad despite having the 13th most caps in Canada’s 23-player squad.
Of course, Canada is without Kadeisha Buchanan, Jayde Riviere and Cloé Lacasse due to injury right now, as they would’ve pushed Rose down that list of most-capped players, but it’s important to remember that Rose’s 30 caps have come despite her not playing a professional minute.
What that shows, however, is that a big two years await Rose with Canada, as they continue to prepare for the 2027 World Cup. Having hired new head coach Casey Stoney this year, that’s been their big focus, as she’s been tasked with expanding Canada’s player pool and transitioning the team into a new era over the next few years.
Rose is the exact player who can help them do that, along with the likes of Olivia Smith and Simi Awujo, so look for her to step up on the pitch, while perhaps starting to grab a bit more of a leadership role while doing so.
"Yeah, I think that that is, that's the goal, to grow myself as a player and also as a leader," Rose offered. "Casey (Stoney) and I have spoken a lot about me growing and stepping into more of a leadership role in this team. Being a centre back, communication is a large part of our role, so I want to keep stepping into that side of things, while also stepping into being a leader on and off the pitch to uphold this environment's standards, whether that's in practice, recovery, in meetings - wherever it may be."
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 5, 2025
Jade Rose scores her first #CanWNT goal, forcing it over the line from close range to give Canada the lead 💪
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/4J5XUUhySR
Already a silent leader on the pitch whenever she plays with Canada, which is a testament to her style of play, she could have a big role to play at the back for Canada if they’re to have any success at the 2027 World Cup.
Armed with a backline that includes her, Vanessa Gilles and Buchanan, that’ll be a real strength of this Canadian team, so look for Rose to help her side push towards that tournament, and beyond.
Having missed the 2023 World Cup with an injury after originally making that team, she’ll want to build off a strong 2024 Olympics, which was her first major tournament with Canada, and hopefully the first of many.
Certainly, with this City move now in the rearview mirror, big things are ahead for Rose with club and country - look for her to kick that all of with a couple of big performances for Stoney’s side this month, especially vs. the US, which might be Canada’s best test since their new coach’s arrival.
There, Rose can offer another reminder of her high ceiling, showing what she’ll look to bring for her new club and Canada going forward.
"Just being at Man City and to be playing against the opponents that I will be playing against will make me a lot better," Rose offered. " Just having that consistent challenge to be able to play against different kinds of forwards and just challenge myself on a day-to-day basis is something that I'm looking forward to."
All numbers via WyScout.
