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Keira Walsh in action against Ireland last year. Ben Brady/INPHO

Chelsea capture another big star as England midfielder Walsh signs from Barcelona

This comes after her Lionesses team-mate, Chloe Kelly, joined Arsenal in a dramatic deadline day loan.

ENGLAND MIDFIELDER KEIRA Walsh has joined Womenโ€™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 Bompastorโ€™s Blues for a fee of around ยฃ400,000 (โ‚ฌ478,000).

Walsh said: โ€œItโ€™s unbelievable. Iโ€™m very happy to be here and very excited to get started.

โ€œYou look at the history of the trophies Chelsea have won and Iโ€™m an ambitious player and person, so for me, it is a good fit.

โ€œSpeaking 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.โ€

Walsh is Chelseaโ€™s other major signing of a busy January window: US international Naomi Girma arrived last week as the first million dollar transfer in womenโ€™s football. Walsh was previously the most expensive player in the game: she moved to Barcelona from Manchester City for around ยฃ400,000 in 2022.

Moments before her deal was announced, Walsh took to Instagram to post a farewell to Barcelona.

Her post read: โ€œThank you to my team-mates, the staff, and the incredible fans for your unwavering support.

โ€œBeing a Culer has been a dream come true, and Iโ€™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.

โ€œWinning 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.โ€

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 clubโ€™s academy, making 19 first-team appearances between 2015 and 2018 before joining Everton.

joie-stadium-manchester-england-15th-january-2025-chloe-kelly-of-manchester-city-women-breaks-forwards-with-the-ball-during-the-adobe-womens-fa-cup-match-manchester-city-women-v-ipswich-town-at-t Chloe Kelly had made only one start in the WSL this season. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The 27-year-old, who scored the Lionessesโ€™ winning goal in the Euro 2022 final against Germany, accused City of โ€œnegative behaviourโ€ towards her in a scathing social media post earlier this week.

She also claimed that her mental well-being had been affected after being โ€œdictatedโ€ 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 โ€“ Kelly is ineligible to face her parent club โ€“ and when quizzed about the playerโ€™s controversial departure today, Sky Blues manager Gareth Taylor said:

โ€œIโ€™d rather not go into specifics. What I will say is itโ€™s been really disappointing to come to this and obviously the ending it transpired to.

โ€œI 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.

โ€œItโ€™s been disappointing and a challenging couple of days for many people, not just myself, and itโ€™s never good to hear a player has not had a good experience of being at the club.

โ€œIโ€™m sure thatโ€™s not the case for the whole period, maybe just the more recent period for not playing.

โ€œWeโ€™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.โ€

- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy

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    Mute Brian I
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    Jan 31st 2025, 10:19 PM

    Why is the English womenโ€™s league pushed so much on these shores, no one is interested, thereโ€™s never a reply to any of the stories reported.

    Radio stations, notably offtheball cover it more than the mens league here, itโ€™s really strange.

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