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The women’s football transfer market is seemingly about to take a fresh twist as Chelsea reportedly close in on a world-record move for USWNT defender Naomi Girma.

The 24-year-old was always going to become the story of the January window after rumours emerged suggesting clubs in Europe were ready to battle it out for her signature. The San Diego Wave centre back still has a couple of years remaining on her contract with the NWSL club, so it became clear quite quickly that interested clubs would have to present a world-record bid to sign her.

Racheal Kundananji, currently of Bay FC, is the current most expensive women’s footballer in history following her £685,000 move from Madrid CFF last February. A report from The Athletic this week claims Chelsea have agreed a deal worth £900,000 to sign Girma this month, which comfortably exceeds the current record and by some distance.

It is no surprise to see Chelsea in the market for a centre back this month after Canada international Kadeisha Buchanan sustained an ACL injury earlier in the campaign. Sonia Bompastor is currently relying on Nathalie Bjorn and Millie Bright as her two starting centre backs, but increased depth was going to be necessary to allow them to compete on all four fronts.

To potentially sign a player of Girma’s calibre, however, is another story in itself. This is not just a player signed to come in and push the current squad, this is someone capable of taking one of England’s most successful clubs to even greater heights.

The words of former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes should be noted as Girma was one of the first players she singled out for praise shortly after taking charge of the USWNT last summer. “Look, she [Girma] is the best defender I’ve ever seen,” she told reporters during their Olympic campaign. 

“I’ve never seen a player as good as her at the back. She’s got everything, poise, composure, she can defend, she anticipates, she leads. [She’s] unbelievable.”

Chelsea were not the only club pushing to sign her this month, with WSL rivals Arsenal also long-term admirers, according to ESPN. French giants Lyon, owned by businesswoman Michele Kang, were also heavily linked, but it is testament to Chelsea’s pulling power and ambition that they have stormed ahead in the race and are approaching the finish line.

Chelsea are set to break the women’s world transfer record to sign Naomi Girma! 😲#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/AQviRpIXDN

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 22, 2025

During her college days, Girma played her football for the Stanford Cardinal and was then the first overall pick of the NWSL Draft in 2022. In her first season, she was named the league’s Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year, while she also made her senior debut for the USWNT.

In 2023, she helped San Diego Wave to the NWSL shield and she was named Defender of the Year for the second year running. The individual accolades speak for themselves, but her presence at the back was also one of the key driving forces behind the USA’s quest for Olympic gold last summer as she played every minute of the tournament under Hayes.

Chelsea already boast one of the strongest defences in the WSL, alongside Arsenal and Manchester United, having conceded just six goals in their 11 games so far this term. What Girma offers will undoubtedly make them an even tougher unit to break down, but also Opta records the defender as having a 91% pass completion and just shy of five progressive passes per 90 over the last 365 days, which indicates she could be a real asset in Chelsea’s build-up play as well.

While an unprecedented sixth league title in a row is one of the top targets for Bompastor in her debut season as Chelsea boss, there is no denying that the Champions League is at the top of everyone’s wish list.

The last and only English team to win the competition was Arsenal back in 2007. Chelsea came painstakingly close in 2021 under Hayes when they were beaten in the final by Barcelona and the wait continues to this day.

Although this will be Girma’s first taste of European football, there is no escaping that her arrival provides a significant boost to Chelsea as they look to rewrite the history books once again this season.

READ THE LATEST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL NEWS, FEATURES & ANALYSIS

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Brazil international Kerolin Nicoli on a three-and-a-half year deal until 2028.

The 25-year-old joins from NWSL side North Carolina Courage where she was named the first ever South American NWSL Most Valuable Player in 2023 after helping her club to the Challenge Cup that same year. She also has 45 senior caps for the Brazil national team under her belt.

Kerolin becomes City’s third addition of the January transfer window after the arrivals from Rebecca Knaak and Aemu Oyama. She will wear the number 14 shirt for the remainder of the season.

The forward told mancity.com: “I’m so excited to be here. I think there were a lot of reasons why I chose City and one of those was to play in the Champions League.

“I think the players [in the WSL] are really technical and the team is compact. I want to be better, to learn different things and to come here to be challenged, also play against the defenders who will play in the next World Cup in Brazil in 2027.

“I’m really excited to be part of the team. I have so much confidence, but I know I need to keep working hard to be great here. There will be some differences between here and where I’ve played before, but I’m really excited.”

The move comes at a time when England international Chloe Kelly faces an uncertain future at the club with her contract set to expire at the end of the season. The 26-year-old missed Sunday’s Manchester derby, with The Telegraph reporting Manchester United are eager to sign the winger on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

However, Gareth Taylor insisted her absence was due to an ankle injury sustained during a training session and the club are not aware of any speculation over a January exit. City went on to lose Sunday’s derby 4-2 at the Etihad as their title hopes suffered a major blow.

City have now slipped to fourth in the WSL standings, two points behind Arsenal and United and a staggering nine points behind runaway leaders Chelsea.

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Millie Bright became the player with the most Women’s Super League (WSL) wins as Chelsea triumphed over West Ham United in a 5-0 victory at the weekend.

The stalwart defender registered her 128th victory in the WSL on Sunday as the Blues extended their unbeaten run into 2025. Since signing with Chelsea in 2015, Bright has gone on to win seven league titles, four FA Cups and two FA Women’s League Cups.

The 31-year-old wrote her name into the history books in the fateful summer of 2022, after an impeccable individual tournament helped England go on to lift the European Championship trophy.

After a record-breaking number of victories in the WSL, 90min takes a look at some of the defenders best moments in a Chelsea shirt…

After signing with the west-London club in the dying stages of 2014, 21-year-old Millie Bright walked into Cobham with hopes and dreams full of success. In terms of obtaining silverware, it didn’t take her long to strike that off her goals list.

The Blues clinched a 1-0 victory over Notts County under the arch of Wembley Stadium to set themselves up for the next decade of complete dominance.

Despite the heartbreaking 4-0 result in Gothenburg, the 2020/21 season marked a historic campaign for Chelsea as the side reached their first ever UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

Although the result didn’t go as planned, Bright has always reflected on that moment as one that will motivate her forever. Chelsea are yet to take home the European prize, and it is all that is left to win for Bright.

The player operated at the heart of defence, fighting tooth and nail for 90 minutes of play.

A historic goal fired secured an important victory for Chelsea in the Champions League as the 2022/23 campaign kicked off. Meeting Erin Cuthbert’s brilliant delivery with a well-timed run, Bright fired her volley into the back of the net.

The goal was enough to give Chelsea a 1-0 group stage victory over Paris Saint-Germain, who would go on to be semi-finalists in the competition that year.

Bright is known for her brick-wall defensive presence, but it was her scoring boots that saw her names in lights on this occasion.

The defender was named the Chelsea Player’s Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2015 season. For a young 21-year-old to be awarded the honour, it came as no surprise when Bright developed into the next Chelsea legend to wear the armband.

Following Magdalena Eriksson’s departure from the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Chelsea announced that Bright would take the armband from then on. It is safe to say that the transition has been seamless.

When the odds were stacked against them, Chelsea still managed to get the job done. Defeating Man United 6-0 on the final day of the 2023/24 season, Millie Bright led the Blues to a fifth consecutive WSL title.

The captain continues to become one of the most decorated players of the modern era, and with the form they are in, the Blues may just make it six league titles and counting in the 2024/25 season.

READ THE LATEST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL NEWS, FEATURES & ANALYSIS

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has named the club that he considers among the favourites to win the Champions League this season – and it’s not his own.

Europe’s premier club competition has returned for matchday seven of the league phase this week, with only one more round of fixtures left as teams jostle for positions to finish as high as possible.

Barcelona overcame a disappointing start following defeat to Monaco in their opening game, stringing together five successive wins since over Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Red Star Belgrade, Brest and Borussia Dortmund to sit second in the table behind leaders Liverpool.

The Premier League side have won six from six, the sole team with a 100% record, and Flick admitted that Arne Slot’s men are the ones to beat.

Barca face Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday night, with coach Bruno Lage naming the Catalans as favourites to lift the trophy come May. Flick pushed back on that prediction, commenting on the difficulty of going all the way and namedropping Liverpool instead.

“We’ll see in the future if [Lage] is right. It’s one of the most difficult competitions to win. Liverpool is one of my favourites,” Flick explained to reporters.

“Winning the Champions League is one of the most difficult things in the world. We’re doing well, but there are some very good teams that are also doing well.

“We’re in three competitions. If you look at the results in La Liga, we’re not doing a good job, but if you look at the [Getafe] game [on Saturday], we’re doing very well. It’s difficult to play against Getafe.”

Barcelona’s domestic form has been in stark contrast to their European results. Having dropped only three points through their opening 12 La Liga games to lead the way, Flick’s side have collected just one further win from eight league fixtures since to fall seven points off the pace set by Real Madrid.

They did, however, collect the Supercopa de Espana earlier this month, thrashing Madrid for the second time this season in the final in Saudi Arabia, scoring four times in the first half alone.

READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE

Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old centre-back Juma Bah from AIK Freetong, a report has confirmed.

Bah is enjoying a breakout season on loan in La Liga with Real Valladolid, for whom he has already made 14 appearances in all competitions, and a number of clubs are believed to have taken an interest in the Sierra Leone international.

It was recently reported that City Football Group, the wider ownership group behind Manchester City, had set their sights on Bah, but now Fabrizio Romano has specified that it is the Premier League champions who are chasing his signature.

City have struck a deal to sign Bah, although it is not clear whether Pep Guardiola’s side will sign him immediately or at the end of the season, when his loan with Valladolid expires. There are suggestions, however, that the teenager could be loaned to French side Lens, who sold Abdukodir Khusanov to City this week.

Should the move go through as expected, Bah could be the third centre-back signing of the winter window for City, who have also announced the capture of 19-year-old Vitor Reis from Palmeiras. The transfer fee for the young Brazilian is thought to have been around £30m.

The transfer spree does not stop there, however, Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush is set to join in a deal worth just under £70m, while talks have been opened with Juventus over a move to re-sign midfielder Douglas Luiz.

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