THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK hit zero, the transfer window slammed shut and Katie McCabe was still an Arsenal player.
A dramatic few days came to a close at 5pm yesterday evening.
Talk had heightened since Saturday night’s bolt from the blue, Sky Sports news pushing out the alert:
‘Arsenal have rejected a bid from WSL title rivals Chelsea for Katie McCabe.’
Sky, alongside The Telegraph, were reporting that the reigning champions had made a “substantial” offer for the Republic of Ireland captain. This news was a sensation in women’s football circles.
From Chelsea’s viewpoint, it all but confirmed the impending summer exit of key duo, captain Magdalena Eriksson and her partner Pernille Harder.
For Arsenal, the impact was perhaps greater, given all circumstances.
McCabe, who will lead the Girls In Green to their first-ever major tournament in this summer’s World Cup, has established herself as an Arsenal stalwart in recent seasons. A world-class left sided player — though versatile, equally comfortable on the right and centrally if needed — the 27-year-old has become an integral figure at the club since her arrival from Shelbourne in 2015. A brief loan spell at Glasgow City had been the only interruption since joining.
With 18 months left on her current contract, was she on the move and set to become Ireland’s most expensive female player ever?
Word trickled through of a fee, reportedly around £250k. The current world record for a female player is around £400k, after Keira Walsh made the move to Barcelona from Manchester City last year. The domestic record is £250k, Bethany England having swapped Chelsea for Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks.
Arsenal were reportedly reluctant to sell, but despite the rejection, Chelsea were still hopeful of securing the services of a player that supported their club as a child, before yesterday’s deadline.
Happy birthday @Katie_McCabe11 🥳
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) September 21, 2022
Goalscorer, assister, defender and....Chelsea fan? 🤪 pic.twitter.com/LNsBjrfO8y
She went on to play in Sunday’s 9-0 win over Leeds in the FA Cup, with home supporters at Meadow Park making their feelings known. An unquestionable fan favourite, there were rousing renditions of, ‘We’ve got McCabe,’ and #15 jerseys out in full force.
McCabe typically did her talking on the pitch,while manager Jonas Eidevall addressed the rumour afterwards. “I didn’t speak to Katie about that,” he told reporters. “Me and Katie have never spoken about her leaving. We only speak about what we can create here at Arsenal. There is absolutely no chance of that move happening.”
Across the city at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea boss Emma Hayes was asked about the Blues’ transfer activity.
“I’ve said all along. There will be no players coming in and I won’t be changing that perspective,” she said after her side’s 3-2 FA Cup win over Liverpool. “This was always maintained that it would be a quiet window for us.”
Pressed on McCabe specifically, Hayes replied: “I don’t discuss rumours. I don’t talk about other players. I’ve told you there’ll be no players coming in.”
While McCabe helped the Gunners to the WSL title in 2019, Chelsea have been the dominant force in recent seasons. They’ve won eight trophies in the time since their London counterparts last lifted one, the clubs sharing a colourful rivalry.
Fuel was added to the fire when they drew each other in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, with the WSL title race also heating up and both still in Champions League contention.
McCabe won’t shy away from this trophy drought. “When you play for Arsenal, you’re always expected to win trophies,” as she’s told The42 time and time again through the years.
Further sparks flew later in the day when Arsenal made a world record bid — and another on Tuesday — for Manchester United striker Alessia Russo. The link is nothing new, but the fact the England star could go on a free transfer this summer breathed new life into the McCabe talk.
Eidevall is in need of further attacking force with star duo Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead both sidelined with ACL injuries, the Swedish coach preferring to deploy McCabe in more defensive roles.
Earlier in the season, he played her left-back with Australia’s Steph Catley moving to central defence amidst an injury crisis; the World Cup Group B counterparts in direct competition for places.
McCabe is consistently brilliant for the Gunners and one of their most experienced players. She has played in all 10 of their WSL matches this season, but was held in reserve as a substitute in their recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
She came off the bench in the closing stages that day, and Arsenal and Ireland legend Emma Byrne believes recent events could correlate with this “strange” transfer story.
Speaking on Off The Ball’s COYGIG podcast yesterday, McCabe’s predecessor as Irish captain, close friend and long-time mentor said: “Katie didn’t really know anything about it.
“If that were me, I would be like, ‘I’m going to wind Jonas Eidevall up. He puts [me] on the bench, which is an insult to my team, you’re not putting your best team out there…’ The fact is Katie doesn’t know much about it.
“I still thought it was a bit strange because Katie has another year and a bit left on her contract. There’s no way Arsenal would let her go, it wouldn’t matter how much… it’s all kind of mind games going on, which is a lot of fun. But I guarantee you she plays for the rest of the season.”
“It’s amazing, it’s the best PR stunt ever,” Byrne added. “Katie can go wherever she wants and I know that for a fact. She could go to Barca next week if she wanted to, and be pretty sure of winning a Champions League, very easily winning the league.
“Her options would be open. It’s going to take a lot of money for her to go — not just on her personal contract, but for Arsenal to release her and I’m not sure they will do that.”
The bottom line is Katie McCabe is still an Arsenal player — for now anyway — with all eyes on ending the club’s trophy drought.
And then, of course, the World Cup with Vera Pauw’s Ireland, the news of the opening fixture being moved to the 83,500-seater Stadium Australia perhaps lost amidst the noise of a sensational few days.
