Naomi Girma joins Chelsea as blues break the bank for defender as fee tops the previous record of $860,000.
Naomi Girma is set to have a medical at Chelsea this week after agreeing personal terms to join from San Diego Wave for a world-record fee.
Chelsea will pay $1.1 million (£890,000), the first transfer price exceeding one million US dollars in women’s football.
Girma is scheduled to go to London for a medical with Sonia Bompastor’s team, who lead the Women’s Super League by seven points at the midway mark, after Chelsea and Girma agreed to a long-term contract, according to The Guardian.
The amount easily beats the record of over $860,000 that was paid by Bay FC, an American team, to recruit Racheal Kundananji, a striker from Zambia, from Madrid CFF in February 2024.
Additionally, Chelsea’s January payment for Colombian attacker Mayra Ramírez more than doubles the record for a signing by an English women’s team. That was estimated to cost €450,000 (£384,000 at the time) plus an additional €50,000.
The 24-year-old centre-back Girma was also a top transfer target for Lyon, a French team that reportedly made a $1 million approach, but it is believed Chelsea has been her top choice. There, she will connect with Mia Fishel and Catarina Macario, two more US internationals.
Girma signed a contract with the NWSL team until 2026 and joined the San Diego Wave in 2022. She made her debut for her nation in 2022 and has since earned 44 caps and two goals. She won the women’s player of the year award from US Soccer in 2023.
Emma Hayes, the former manager of Chelsea, called Girma the finest defender she had “ever seen” in August. Girma was instrumental in Hayes’ team’s gold medal in the Olympics in Paris. The United States won the Olympic championship for the sixth time.