Chelsea have agreed a club record deal to sign USA international Alyssa Thompson from Angel City.
The 20-year-old forward has completed a medical and is expected to sign a five-year contract with the Blues.
Sources at Chelsea claim the fee is worth just under £1m, which won’t break the Women’s Super League (WSL) record – the £1m paid by Arsenal to sign Canada forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool in July.
However, this is disputed by USA sources, who say the fee is an initial £1.1m, which could rise to £1.4m with potential add-ons.
Smith’s move was the world record for around a month, but was then broken by Mexico forward Lizbeth Ovalle’s £1.1m ($1.5m) move from Tigres to Orlando Pride.
Thompson is one of the most exciting talents in the world and the deal will definitely surpass Chelsea’s previous transfer record for USA defender Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave in January.
She arrives to strengthen a Chelsea attack which has lost striker Mayra Ramirez to a significant hamstring injury – ruling out the Colombia international until January – and England forward Lauren James, who misses the season opener against Manchester City.
Chelsea host City at Stamford Bridge on Friday night (19:30 BST) and this will be welcome news for home supporters.
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