Chelsea Ladies have agreed to phrases with the for the switch of U.S. girls’s nationwide group defender for a file $1.1 million price, in keeping with sources briefed on the negotiations. As of Tuesday, the paperwork over the switch and Girma’s contract at Chelsea continues to be within the negotiation course of and never finalized. The 24-year-old is now set to turn into the primary participant to earn a switch price value greater than $1 million.
Girma is beneath contract on the Wave till 2026 which is why the deal requires a switch price.
The Wave declined to touch upon Tuesday, and Chelsea didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The Wave launched their preseason roster forward of the group’s first coaching session on Tuesday, which included Girma. She reported to San Diego on the primary day of coaching.
Girma is taken into account to be among the many finest defenders on the planet and earned vital reward for her performances on the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking part in each minute because the USWNT received gold.
“She’s the very best defender I’ve ever seen,” head coach Emma Hayes stated after her facet’s semifinal victory towards Germany. “Ever.”
Girma had appreciable European curiosity, together with from Lyon — who had come to the desk with a $1 million provide of their very own. In keeping with the sources briefed on the negotiations, Arsenal was not among the many ultimate contenders for Girma.
Girma joined the Wave as the primary choose within the 2022 NWSL draft after taking part in for Stanford on the collegiate stage. She has twice been named NSWL defender of the yr and was a part of the Wave facet that received the NWSL Defend in 2023. The Wave had been ready to lose Girma for the 2025 season, having signed 17-year-old heart again Trinity Armstrong out of the College of North Carolina to a three-year deal final week. One supply briefed on negotiations stated Girma had requested to maneuver on from the Wave final season, very like midfielder who was to the .
The middle again made her USWNT debut in April 2022 and has been capped 44 occasions on the worldwide stage. She didn’t attend the senior group’s January camp because of a minor calf damage.
Jonas Eidevall was following Casey Stoney’s departure in June. The membership’s president Jill Ellis, the previous United States head coach, left her position in December to turn into chief soccer officer at .
Chelsea have been with out key heart again Kadeisha Buchanan because the Canada worldwide suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage in November.
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US Ladies’s nationwide group, San Diego Wave, Soccer, NWSL, UK Ladies’s Soccer
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