ENGLAND MIDFIELDER KEIRA Walsh has joined Women’s Super League champions Chelsea from Barcelona on a four-and-a-half year deal.
The 27-year-old has spent the last two-and-a-half years in Spain, where she won eight trophies, including six domestic titles, and was part of two Champions League-winning sides.
The PA news agency understands Walsh joins Sonia Bompastor’s Blues for a fee of around £400,000 (€478,000).
Walsh said: “It’s unbelievable. I’m very happy to be here and very excited to get started.
“You look at the history of the trophies Chelsea have won and I’m an ambitious player and person, so for me, it is a good fit.
“Speaking to Paul Green, Sonia and (assistant coach) Camille (Abily), I just got such a good feeling from them. It has been really positive. I want to play for this club and fight for the badge.”
Walsh is Chelsea’s other major signing of a busy January window: US international Naomi Girma arrived last week as the first million dollar transfer in women’s football. Walsh was previously the most expensive player in the game: she moved to Barcelona from Manchester City for around £400,000 in 2022.
Moments before her deal was announced, Walsh took to Instagram to post a farewell to Barcelona.
Her post read: “Thank you to my team-mates, the staff, and the incredible fans for your unwavering support.
“Being a Culer has been a dream come true, and I’m grateful for the memories that will last a lifetime. It has been a privilege to be part of such a special group of players, sharing unforgettable moments on and off the pitch.
“Winning eight trophies, especially two Champions League titles, will always be among the greatest highlights of my career. I will forever cherish my time at this amazing club. Visca Barca.”
Last night, Arsenal announced the signing of England forward Chloe Kelly on loan from Manchester City amidst a dramatic end to deadline day.
Kelly returns to the Gunners having come through the club’s academy, making 19 first-team appearances between 2015 and 2018 before joining Everton.
The 27-year-old, who scored the Lionesses’ winning goal in the Euro 2022 final against Germany, accused City of “negative behaviour” towards her in a scathing social media post earlier this week.
She also claimed that her mental well-being had been affected after being “dictated” to by City over which clubs she was allowed to join. She was also linked with Manchester United and Brighton.
City play Arsenal at the Joie Stadium on Sunday – Kelly is ineligible to face her parent club – and when quizzed about the player’s controversial departure today, Sky Blues manager Gareth Taylor said:
“I’d rather not go into specifics. What I will say is it’s been really disappointing to come to this and obviously the ending it transpired to.
“I always try to represent the club in the right way, in the good moments and difficult moments, and certainly work for a club that has real integrity.
“It’s been disappointing and a challenging couple of days for many people, not just myself, and it’s never good to hear a player has not had a good experience of being at the club.
“I’m sure that’s not the case for the whole period, maybe just the more recent period for not playing.
“We’re in a selection-based business where difficult decisions have to be made for the betterment of the team and sometimes players can fall on the sharp end of that.”
- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy
Why is the English women’s league pushed so much on these shores, no one is interested, there’s never a reply to any of the stories reported.
Radio stations, notably offtheball cover it more than the mens league here, it’s really strange.