Naomi Girma: Chelsea to sign USA defender for world record fee
2025-01-22
Category: sports

USA defender Naomi Girma has agreed terms to join Chelsea on a long-term deal for a world record transfer.The fee is believed to be the most expensive transfer for a female footballer, in the region of Â£900,000 ($1.1m) and exceeding the Â£685,000 Bay FC paid for Zambia's Racheal Kundananji in February 2024.It would also see the 24-year-old become the first women's million dollar player.Women's Super League champions Chelsea were in a tussle with French giants Lyon for her signature, with Girma widely regarded as one of the best players in the world.She is set to leave San Diego Wave - now managed by former Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall - and will become manager Sonia Bompastor's first January signing at the club.Girma was a priority target for Chelsea this window having lost centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.They currently sit top of the WSL table with a seven-point lead over Arsenal and have qualified for the knockout stages of the Women's Champions League.The club signed Levante striker Mayra Ramirez in January last year for a British record Â£384,000 fee, plus up to Â£42,600 in add-ons.
Why was Girma in such high demand?
Girma's talents have been evident for a few years, with San Diego Wave selecting her as the first pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft.At the end of the season, she was named the NWSL's defender of the year and rookie of the year.The following year she signed a new three-year deal, helped San Diego Wave win the NWSL Shield under ex-Manchester United manager Casey Stoney and was named the league's best defender for a second successive year.Girma has also played a key role for the USA national side, and was one of the standout performers as they fell to an early exit in the last 16 of the 2023 Women's World Cup.She was named US Soccer's female player of the year and backed it up by playing every minute of their run to Olympic gold in 2024.