After three seasons with the San Diego Wave, Naomi Girma is crossing the pond. The Wave have traded the middle again and USWNT staple to Chelsea Ladies, .
Girma, among the finest middle backs on this planet, will head to Chelsea in trade for a file $1.1 million switch price. Chelsea, Arsenal and Lyon had all reportedly proven curiosity in buying the 24-year-old defender, per ; ultimately, Chelsea received out.
The price is the best in girls’s soccer historical past, and marks the primary time {that a} switch has damaged the $1 million mark. Girma’s switch smashes the earlier file set final offseason, with Bay FC Zambian ahead Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for $860,000.
Girma will now be part of USWNT teammates Mia Fishel and Catarina Macario at Chelsea, which at the moment sits on the prime of the Ladies’s Tremendous League. Chelsea is chasing its straight sixth league title this season underneath supervisor Sonia Bompastor, who changed present USWNT coach Emma Hayes.
The Wave, in its first season, chosen Girma because the No. 1 general decide of the 2022 draft out of Stanford. In three seasons, the defender helped lead the staff to the 2023 NWSL Protect and the 2024 NWSL Problem Cup. Girma is a well-decorated, good again line anchor who can’t solely anticipate opponents’ strikes however can be key to creating offensive probabilities within the run of play.
Girma departs San Diego whereas the staff is in the midst of a reasonably vital rebuild. The Wave as head coach earlier this month, turning the web page . However the staff might be lacking a few of its largest faces subsequent season, with and younger ahead Jaedyn Shaw .
Maybe in anticipation of Girma leaving, the Wave 17-year-old defender Trinity Armstrong — one other younger, proficient defender — to a three-year contract on Jan. 16. Armstrong received an NCAA nationwide championship in a standout freshman season on the College of North Carolina, and is certainly one of 5 nominees for U.S. Soccer’s 2024 Younger Participant of the 12 months award. She won’t be Girma, however Armstrong might be a powerful addition to the San Diego again line because the staff rebuilds.
