Chelsea Women were coasting already in the WSL, but the camp could go to a higher level in the new year. According to Sky Sports News, Naomi Girma has chosen to join the club for a world record fee.
Naomi Girma Goes to Chelsea for World Record Fee
Girma Gets the Stage to Shine in the WSL
The 24-year-old has put pen to paper for a contract that will last until 2029. But the headline news is the price that her new club have paid for her services. A fee of £890,000 smashes the old world record price of a player in women’s football which was £685,000 for Racheal Kundananji. It also broke the British transfer record fee of £384,000 that the Blues paid for striker Mayra Ramirez early in 2024.
As a part of the US Women’s National Team, Girma has been working with Emma Hayes. Chelsea’s former manager has spoken highly of her quality and her arrival also excites her new teammates.
Speaking with the BBC, club captain Millie Bright has said about her defensive partner: ” We’re really lucky to have her. We feel really grateful that she chose us. It sends out a statement to the rest of the league and Europe about the direction we are going in and the titles that we want to win.”
Girma’s presentation did not last long due to heavy rain. Wet weather may have dampened the parade, but spirits should still be strong as Chelsea have signed a player billed “the world’s best center-back.”
Can Naomi Girma Get Chelsea to the Champions League trophy?
The reigning WSL champions have not failed to win the trophy since the 2018/19 season and this signing shows that they are not at all intent on letting standards slide under their new manager.
Read more: Chelsea Women Appoint Emma Hayes Successor
Fans worried if the legacy of Hayes would overshadow her successor, Sonia Bompastor. However, the former Lyon coach, a three-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner across her decorated playing and managerial career, knows how to perform under pressure. Her players have dropped points only once in the league and are nine points clear at the top of the table after a 1-0 victory over Arsenal Women.
A first European title is the ultimate dream for the team. The Blues won all six of their Champions League group stage games and will feature in a two-legged quarter-final in March. Margins matter at the elite level and Bompastor will believe that Girma gets the squad one step closer to their goal.
