Girma deal marks women’s soccer’s first $1 million transfer. Plus, recent NWSL moves we like
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You’re an All-Star. Go get paid! Emily Olsen here with Meg Linehan and Jeff Rueter — welcome to Full Time!
$1 Million Transfer
Chelsea finalizing deal for USWNT’s Naomi Girma
We have long known that U.S. women’s national team defender Naomi Girma is invaluable.
She has led the San Diego Wave and the U.S. in her stalwart center back role. She has an NCAA championship title, an NWSL Shield, two Defender of the Year awards and an Olympic gold medal.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has called her the “best defender” she’s seen. “Ever.”
And now Chelsea Women are putting down a record-breaking investment to bring Girma to their team: a $1.1 million transfer fee, as Meg reported earlier today. The Women’s Super League side has agreed to terms with San Diego, where Girma is under contract until 2026, but her new contract with Chelsea is not yet finalized.
Chelsea previously held the transfer record in 2024 when they signed Colombian striker Mayra Ramirez for more than half a million dollars from Levante in Liga F. That record stood for all of a couple of weeks before Bay FC nearly doubled the price tag, signing Racheal Kundananji and sending a $862,000 transfer fee to Madrid CFF.
Girma was a significant factor for the U.S. in its quest for Olympic gold last summer. But before that, she was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, earning Rookie of the Year and her first Defender of the Year title in her first season.
Chelsea weren’t the only ones chasing the 24-year-old. Current French leaders Lyon were also courting Girma and offered upward of $1 million to San Diego.
MORE: The Olympics were a coronation for Girma and her defensive work.
OFF THE FIELD: Girma has been a strong advocate for mental health, especially among the athlete community following the death of her former Stanford teammate Katie Meyer.
What makes a million-dollar defender?
Strikers are measured by their goals, creative midfielders by their assists. Goalkeepers can point to saves and shutouts.
Even with the advancement of metrics like expected goals, expected assists and expected goals prevented, the work of a world-class defender has been far more elusive to illustrate with numbers.
So how do you quantify a talent like Girma, who was one of the few bright spots in a forgettable World Cup for the U.S. and again in 2024 despite the San Diego Wave’s form?
Stats like tackles and interceptions (and saves, for goalkeepers) are more indicative of a team under constant duress than individual quality. But Girma is hard to bypass.
She’s very successful when she attempts a tackle.
She’s crafty with a toe poke.
While her overall passing is stellar — 90.3% accuracy, third-best in the sample — it’s her ability to break lines accurately that’ll make her coveted by clubs of the highest standard.
Throw in her captain’s mentality and affable personality, and it’s no wonder that Girma is Option A for any Champions League contender needing to upgrade in the back.
Meg’s Corner
Girma’s record transfer fee should shock no one
We always knew the $1 million barrier would be broken for women’s football transfer fees sooner rather than later — but you also really shouldn’t be surprised that it’s Naomi Girma setting the record either. Girma’s followed in the footsteps of center backs and leaders before her, like Carla Overbeck and Becky Sauerbrunn, but she’s also shaping the present and future of women’s football on the field and with this transfer fee.
I think it’s worth it to take a beat and contextualize the $1.1 million fee amid the state of transfers across global soccer. While FIFA has yet to release its report for 2024, we can at least look at the mid-year report from last year’s summer window.
$6.4 billion spent on transfer fees in men’s professional soccer.
$6.8 million spent on international transfers in the women’s game. (I’d say “only,” but that’s more than double what was spent in the 2023 mid-year window. Progress!)
Girma’s transfer fee from Chelsea would have been good for about 16% of that window’s total alone — and it’s safe to assume that with this new benchmark, there will be continued exponential growth for international transfers.
NWSL teams have been major players in this market, from Bay FC making their move for Kundananji to Orlando Pride adding NWSL Championship MVP Barbra Banda, but it also still benefits the NWSL that multiple European teams were ready to pony up a cool mil for an American star.
🎧 The latest from the “Full Time” podcast: New Canada women’s coach Casey Stoney shares her vision for the team.
Notables
Moves I like
This NWSL offseason marks a new era.
As of last Wednesday, teams can no longer trade players without their consent under the new CBA — negotiated for and ratified by the league, players and clubs last year. Gone are the days of trade windows, rookie drafts and restricted free agency. Deals can happen at any point until October’s roster freeze deadline.
U.S. emerging talent Jaedyn Shaw took full advantage of the rule, completing a trade from the Wave to the North Carolina Courage last week — though she had requested a move (specifically to North Carolina) more than a year ago.
The rule changes have led to quite the active offseason, which calls for another edition of Jeff Rueter’s “Moves I like”:
Shaw to Courage: Shaw clearly sees a role she can own in Sean Nahas’ side. Along with Ashley Sanchez, the pair could be a lethal two-headed creative machine, each capable of taking their shots. She’ll be a welcome addition to a team that just lost former league MVP Kerolin in free agency.
Yazmeen Ryan to Houston Dash: Players with Ryan’s versatility and consistency are in short supply, and having her on a fresh contract bodes well for the Dash’s long-overdue rebuild. I also like that Houston has brought Delanie Sheehan in from free agency, ensuring Ryan’s acclimation is sped up thanks to the pair’s familiarity from their time at Gotham.
Honorable mention: Angel City re-signed two-time World Cup winner Christen Press to a one-year contract extension. The 36-year-old was Angel City’s first-ever signing on its inaugural roster in 2021. The team also recently hired former NWSL head coach Mark Parsons as its general manager.
Naeher wins another award
We are not done celebrating Alyssa Naeher — even if she retired from international soccer in November.
On Saturday, U.S. Soccer named the former women’s national team goalkeeper its Female Player of the Year for 2024. It’s hard to argue with the accolades from her very successful year:
Olympic gold medal
CONCACAF W Gold Cup inaugural champion (saving and taking a penalty kick)
SheBelieves Cup winner
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award
The 36-year-old earned her latest nod thanks to a vote from national team coaches, players, U.S. Soccer board members, the U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, NWSL head coaches, fans and select media members and administrators.
MORE: Naeher was a brick wall to her opponents during the Olympics, but her teammates have found a way through.
Full Time First Looks
Parting message: Former Arsenal and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie is retiring, the 33-year-old announced today. Beattie reflected on her career as she enters a new phase of life, including her World Cup goal at Parc des Princes, sharing her cancer diagnosis in 2020 and the impact of her father’s legacy on her life.
Messy Manchester: Rivalries — at their best — come with intense competition and a bit of chaos. Sunday’s Manchester derby in the WSL was no exception. United leapfrogged City into third place in the standings with a 4-2 victory. The two fierce competitors will meet again tomorrow in the Women’s League Cup. The only question is which side Chloe Kelly will be on amid reports the City forward could be headed to United on a loan.
Staying on: Arsenal has opted for consistency amid change, hiring Renee Slegers as its head coach through the 2025-26 season. Slegers, 35, stepped into the interim role in October, following Jonas Eidevall’s resignation. s Art de Roche explains why Slegers’ ruthlessness made her the perfect choice.
Cease and desist: Liverpool striker Olivia Smith has become the player defenders feel they need to foul to stop. So much so, head coach Matt Beard has made formal pleas to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited to review and protect the 20-year-old Canadian international from “serious injury.”
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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