Teamwork makes the dream work

USWNT star Naomi Girma nearing transfer to Chelsea for world-record $1.1 million price

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Girls’s Tremendous League powerhouse Chelsea has struck a deal to accumulate San Diego Wave and United States ladies’s nationwide staff defender Naomi Girma, an individual with data of the switch settlement advised The Related Press.

The individual spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly concerning the switch, which had not been finalized.

The switch settlement is for $1.1 million, in keeping with The Athletic, the very best price ever commanded for a switch within the ladies’s recreation.

Girma, 24, was beneath contract with the Wave till 2026. She drew curiosity from French membership Lyon and Arsenal within the Girls’s Tremendous League.

Girma made her debut for the nationwide staff in 2022. She has appeared in 44 video games with the United States and performed on the squad that received the gold medal on the Paris Olympics.

U.S. coach Emma Hayes, the previous coach at Chelsea, referred to as Girma “one of the best defender I’ve ever seen” in the course of the Olympics.

“I’ve by no means seen a participant pretty much as good as her at a middle again. She’s received every thing: Poise, composure, she defends, she anticipates, she leads,” stated Hayes, who labored with such defenders as Millie Vibrant and Magdalena Eriksson whereas main Chelsea for 12 years. “I imply, wow. Unbelievable.”

Girma was named U.S. Soccer Feminine Participant of the 12 months for 2023. She additionally received the federation’s Younger Participant of the 12 months award in 2020.

Girma was captain of the Stanford staff that received the nationwide championship in 2019. She was taken at No. 1 within the 2022 Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League draft by the Wave. She was named the league’s Rookie of the 12 months and Defender of the 12 months in her first season.

Reporting by The Related Press.


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