The 5 best American players to play for Chelsea

To date, seven American men and five women have represented Chelsea. Of the men, former goalkeeper Ethan Wady, as well as current squad members Gabriel Słonina and Caleb Wiley, have never made a senior appearance for the Blues.

Of the rest, many Americans have made a big impact at Stamford Bridge, as well as Kingsmeadow, so here are the top five United States internationals to appear for Chelsea.

Chelsea's five greatest American players of all-time

5) Mia Fishel

Mia Fishel joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 for a reported fee of $250,000, not a small amount of money in the women's game. At the time, the 22 year old was highly sought after, having scored 46 goals in 64 appearances for Liga MX Femenil side Tigres UANL.

However, the striker's time in West London was massively disrupted by injury. She tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in February 2024 on the eve of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, that the US would go on to win, beating Brazil in the final in San Diego. Fishel made her long-awaited return 13 months later against Manchester City last March, but appeared just 21 times for Chelsea overall, scoring only four goals, so did not live up to expectations. She departed for Seattle Reign last July, yet to get off the mark for the NWSL outfit.

4) Alyssa Thompson

We now turn our attention to the trio of USWNT players in Sonia Bompastor's current squad. Alyssa Thompson is currently fourth on this list but, by the time she leaves Chelsea, she may well have sky-rocked up the rankings.

The striker arrived from Angel City FC last September for around £1 million, the second-most expensive signing in women's football history, behind only Lizbeth Ovalle's move to Orlando Pride a few months earlier. To date, the 21 year old has scored five goals in 17 outings for the Blues, bagging four in her last six WSL appearances. Thus, Thompson is not higher in this ranking because she's only had half a season in West London, but is likely to be a key figure for many years to come.

3) Naomi Girma

Another USWNT superstar that currently calls Stamford Bridge home is Naomi Girma. Widely considered to be the best centre-back on the planet, her £883,000 move from San Diego Wave in January last year was, at the time, a world record fee, subsequently surpassed four times. The 25 year old won both the WSL title and FA Cup during his first season in England, starting May's demolition of Manchester United at Wembley.

Overall, Girma has now made just 17 appearances for the club due to a calf injury, but has started each of the last four WSL matches, as well as the League Cup semi-final win over Manchester City at the Joie Stadium. As Bompastor's team continue to hoover up domestic silverware, chasing that illusive first Champions League title too, Girma will be key to their success.

2) Catarina Macário

Catarina Macário has the edge over Girma and Thompson simply because she has been at Chelsea for slightly longer. Having said that, that is not to denigrate her sizeable impact. After winning the Champions League with Lyon in 2022, scoring in the final in Turin, the striker moved to Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2023.

To date, in 59 appearances for the Blues, Macário has scored 15 goals. This includes netting against Man United in last year's FA Cup Final, as well as a brace at NV Arena during this year's Champions League, a 6-0 hammering of St. Pölten. Macário arrived having suffered a serious ACL injury towards the end of her time at Lyon, but there are signs she's finally getting back to her best.

1) Christian Pulisic

The only male player to break into the top five of this ranking is Christian Pulisic. He has made, by some distance, the most appearances for Chelsea of any American, and his time at the club probably remains underappreciated. At the age of just 21, he joined the club from Borussia Dortmund for £58 million, putting pen to paper in January before arriving in the summer.

Well, by the time he joined, Eden Hazard had been sold to Real Madrid, meaning he had enormous shoes to fill. Soon after, he scored a perfect hat-trick against Burnley at Turf Moor, just the second American to bag a treble in the Premier League, after Clint Dempsey in 2012. During that first season, he bagged 11 goals in all competitions, with "lockdown Pulisic" affectionately known as one of the greatest players of all time.

However, his importance slowly declined, his only goal of 2022/23 coming against Wolves, before being sold to AC Milan for €22 million in the summer of 2023. With the Rossoneri, Captain America has established himself as one of the best players in Serie A, scoring 42 times for the club, 16 more than he managed at Chelsea. Nevertheless, given his longevity and the fact that he produced many key moments, he remains the best American to represent the Blues, for now at least.

Complete list of Americans signed by Chelsea