Keira Walsh - FC Barca Femení - $496,000 (£400k)
Speaking of the Women’s Champions League, the Blues next signing of this transfer window is from the club they finished runners up to in the 2020-21 edition of the competition. Keira Walsh joins Chelsea after two and a half years with Barcelona where she lifted two Liga F titles and two Champions League titles as well.
Walsh spent much of her early career with WSL rivals Manchester City before moving to Barcelona in 2022 for a then-world record fee of £400k. She brought her 8 trophies from City to Barca and continued to burnish her reputation as one of the best defensive midfielders in women’s football. Having lost her guaranteed starting spot at Barca due to a shift to a more offensive minded mentality, she was back on the WSL and Chelsea radar and signed a 4.5 year deal with the Blues after a $496k transfer fee,
The Chelsea star is a traditional “number 6” holding midfielder and is best known for dictating the pace of matches from her place in the center of the pitch. Similar to Girma, she brings a great deal of composure and leadership to her teams and is equally accomplished on the international stage, having won the UEFA Women’s Championship in 2022 and Women’s Finalissima in 2023 with England.
This is a signing that once again shows Chelsea Women is ready to push for their first European title as they bolster their backline and midfield. This is a club that scores goals for fun with 39 in 12 WSL matches and is equally stingy at the back with just 6 goals allowed but has been a bit leakier in the UWCL with 6 goals allowed in 6 matches in that competition. The combination of Girma and Walsh in the spine of the Chelsea XI should help clean some of that up.