Chelsea have accomplished the shock deadline day seize of Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh, becoming a member of the WSL champions within the remaining hours of the January switch window.
Stories surrounding the potential transfer broke on the penultimate day of the switch window, after the hypothesis that Walsh had instructed Barcelona she desires a transfer out of the membership earlier than the tip of January.
Regardless of heavy curiosity from WSL rivals Arsenal, it’s Chelsea who’ve formally received the race for Walsh’s signature. Along with her contract set to run out at Barcelona in the summertime, the Blues are believed to have paid £440,000 for her quick acquisition.
“It is unbelievable,” Walsh mentioned after penning a four-and-a-half-year contract. “I am very comfortable to be right here and really excited to get began. You take a look at the historical past of the trophies Chelsea have received and I am an bold participant and individual, so for me, it’s a good match.
Welcome to your new dwelling, Keira Walsh. 🏡 pic.twitter.com/gO6bt9jpE6
— Chelsea FC Ladies (@ChelseaFCW) January 31, 2025
“Chatting with Paul Inexperienced, Sonia [Bompastor] and [assistant manager] Camille [Abily], I simply acquired such an excellent feeling from them. It has been actually constructive. I need to play for this membership and combat for the badge.”
It has been a whirlwind of a switch window in west London after the membership secured the signature of Naomi Girma for a world file charge simply final week.
Walsh returns to the WSL following her transfer to Barcelona from Manchester Metropolis for £400,000, a world file switch on the time. In two full seasons with the Liga F giants, she performed a component in Barcelona successful back-to-back UEFA Ladies’s Champions League titles.
The midfield maestro was additionally central to England’s European Championship triumph in 2022, incomes herself the Participant of the Event honour for an excellent string of particular person performances.
Chelsea’s head of ladies’s soccer Paul Inexperienced added: “Keira is a participant who will add large worth to an already proficient squad. She has huge expertise on the highest degree, successful main honours at each home and worldwide degree.
“She is a composed defensive midfielder, with wonderful technical attributes and world-class soccer intelligence. Her enjoying model and talent to dictate the tempo of the sport can be essential to our sport mannequin as we transfer ahead.”
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