Chelsea needs a lot of help this summer on all fronts. The men’s team needs reinforcements after a roller coaster season, the women’s team needs to strengthen in order to keep up with its biggest rivals and the youth teams need to take a look in the mirror in order to avoid another relegation scare next season. Suffice it to say, the Blues are going to be busy during the upcoming summer transfer window. Now that the ownership situation has sorted itself out, they can now hit the ground running and get busy bringing new faces to west London.
Todd Boehly has made it clear all along what his intentions are as the new Chelsea owner: win. The American is going to do everything in his power to ensure the club operates as efficiently in the transfer market—if not more efficiently—than it did under the guidance of Roman Abramovich. Simply put, Boehly is out to spend some cash and he will demand excellence of everyone involved with the club. He has now put his money where his mouth is as it took him a little over a week to make the first addition to his new club.
Chelsea signs French fullback Eve Perisset to kick off the Todd Boehly era
The Blues have officially made their first signing of the Boehly era as they add French defender Eve Perisset to the women’s ranks. Perisset—who comes over from Bordeaux—has signed a contract with the three-time defending FA Women’s Super League Champions that will run through the 2024/25 campaign. She will be handed the No. 15 shirt upon her arrival on July 1 when the international transfer window swings open.
The 27-year-old officially—and somewhat surprisingly—becomes the first French international to ever sign for the Chelsea Women. Perisset has spent her entire professional career in the French Division One with a handful of clubs. The Saint-Priest native came up through the youth ranks with her local club before joining French powerhouse Lyon at the academy level. She broke through into the accomplished team in 2012, spending four years playing for Les Lyonnaises. Perisset moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2016 and became a regular in Les Parisiennes’ first team during her four seasons in the French capital, winning the fifth first division title of her young career. Perisset joined Bordeaux in 2020, where she played in nearly 50 matches.
She brings with her a plethora of experience across all competitions. In addition to over 120 league matches and a handful of trophies, the versatile defender has played in the last nine UEFA Women’s Champions League campaigns. She even won a UWCL title with Lyon in 2015/16. This experience will be invaluable to a Blues side that is looking to win the competition for the first time next season after falling one win short two years ago.
Perisset’s experience and versatility are her two biggest assets. She can play as a fullback on both sides and as a midfielder. Chelsea has lacked proper fullback depth in the last few years. Further, Emma Hayes will be looking to reinforce the midfield following the departures of long-time playmakers Drew Spence and Ji So-yun last summer. Perisset undoubtedly won’t be the only addition that Hayes makes to her double-winning side during this transfer window, but her signing is one helluva way to kick things off.
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