Chelsea agree deal to sign Lionesses star Keira Walsh from Barcelona

Evening Standard

·30 Januari 2025

Chelsea agree deal to sign Lionesses star Keira Walsh from Barcelona

Midfielder set to return to WSL after two years in Spain

Chelsea have agreed a deadline-day deal to sign England star Keira Walsh from Barcelona.

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Walsh signed for the Spanish giants in 2022 for what was then a world-record fee, having just played a major part in the Lionesses’s European Championship triumph on home soil.

The midfielder has since won back-to-back Champions League and Spanish league titles but is due to be out of contract in the summer.

Walsh was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal last summer, but is now set to secure a return to the WSL with Chelsea ahead of Thursday’s 11pm deadline.

It was initially reported that the fee would be as high as £800,000, but Standard Sport understands it is only around half that.

The deal will be Chelsea’s second major transfer of the January window, following last week’s signing of Naomi Girma for a world-record fee.

The US international defender joined from San Diego Wave for a £900,000 fee, becoming the first women’s player to be sold for more than $1million.

Girma was presented at Stamford Bridge ahead of Sunday’s vital 1-0 win over Arsenal.

The victory has Sonia Bompastor’s side seven points clear at the top of the WSL as they target a sixth straight title, but first since the summer departure of Emma Hayes.