Chelsea lead race to sign Naomi Girma – sources

Chelsea are leading the race to sign San Diego Wave centre-back Naomi Girma, while Arsenal and Lyon are also interested in the United States women’s national team star, sources have told ESPN.

Girma, 24, is under contract until 2026 with the NWSL side, so any deal will need a sizeable transfer fee. One source told ESPN it could become the first $1 million transfer in women’s football.

Girma is one of the highest rated defenders of this current generation and was instrumental in helping the USWNT achieve gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Manager Emma Hayes said Girma is “the best defender I’ve ever seen. Ever. I’ve never seen a player as good as her in the back.”

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has admitted she is looking to bolster their options at centre-back following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to Canadian defender Kadeisha Buchanan, and several sources have told ESPN Girma is top of their wishlist.

Bompastor’s former club Lyon, owned by businesswoman Michele Kang, has also expressed interest in the centre-half despite penning a deal with Swedish defender Elma Junttila Nelhage earlier in the transfer window.

Meanwhile, Arsenal, who’ve had their eye on Girma for quite some time, have also expressed interest in bringing the centre-back on board, another source told ESPN.

There will be several stumbling blocks, though, not least the transfer fee required to prize one of the world’s best players away from San Diego Wave. Former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall, San Diego Wave’s incoming manager, would be reluctant to lose a player of Girma’s calibre while the team are under new ownership, after the franchise was taken over by the Leichtman-Levine Family in October.

Wave have already parted ways with Jaedyn Shaw since Eidevall’s tenure began last week. The 20-year-old forward moved to North Carolina Courage in exchange for $300,000 in allocation money and $150,000 in intra-league transfer fees, along with a 2025 and 2026 international slot to San Diego.

The current world record transfer fee in women’s football is held by Rachel Kundananji who transferred to Bay FC from Madrid CFF for $860,000. Given Girma’s talent, it is likely her transfer fee would need to surpass the current record to make it worthwhile for the franchise.

Girma won NWSL Defender of the Year for both 2022 and 2023, but missed out in 2024 to Emily Sans.