Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson for a fee of around £1m.
The 20-year-old becomes the third player this summer to sign for a WSL club for a fee of £1m, after Olivia Smith joined Arsenal last month and London City Lionesses signed Grace Geyoro in a world record deal of £1.43m on Friday.
Thompson has signed a five-year contract and the deal, with add-ons, could be slightly higher than Geyoro’s move.
The forward made 69 appearances for Angel City, scoring 15 goals and is the third player to depart the LA club in favour of the English top-flight this summer, after Alanna Kennedy and Katie Zelem joined London City Lionesses.
Thompson said: “Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world. Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age and I want to learn, grow and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in.”
Angel City’s owner Alexis Ohanian took a minority stake in Chelsea in May.
Thompson, who has 22 international caps, will join USWNT team-mates Catarina Macario and US vice captain Naomi Girma as the newest member of Sonia Bompastor’s squad as they go in search of a seventh straight WSL title.
Girma signed for the Blues after Chelsea agreed a then-world record fee with San Diego Wave worth £890,000 ($1.1m) in January.
Smith was the first to break that record when switching from Liverpool to the Gunners in August.
Chelsea’s title defence kicks off against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports, on Friday evening.
Electrifying Thompson has potential to become world-beater
Sky Sports News’ Anton Toloui:
“Chelsea spending £1m on Thompson, a young winger with international experience, mirrors Arsenal’s approach when they signed Olivia Smith in a similar deal.
“The big clubs are signing highly-skilled attackers with electrifying talent, who have not only played on the world stage, but possess the potential to become the best players in the game.
“The tactic adds quality to their teams in the short-term but also means they have an appreciating asset in an ever-growing market.
“£1m players may be rare in 2025, but could be the norm in a few years. If so, and if Thompson sets the WSL ablaze like she’s expected to, she may well turn out to be a bargain.”
Sky Sports is the home of the WSL – what’s new this season?
As part of Sky’s new bumper rights partnership with the Women’s Super League, Sky Sports will broadcast 118 matches from the WSL every season, up more than three times from the number of games previously shown with 78 fixtures shown exclusively.
Sky Sports will celebrate a landmark WSL season with a new flagship programme dedicated to Sunday lunchtime kick-offs.
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Welcome to the new Sky Sports WSL YouTube channel, home of everything WSL, with match highlights, live matches, exclusive interviews and your chance to see the stars of the game in ways you’ve never seen before.
The show will offer a 60-minute build-up from 11am, featuring the latest breaking news from every ground, plus more behind-the-scenes content than ever before.
The Sky Sports app also makes it easier than ever to follow the action on mobile with vertical video highlights, match centres packed with scores and stats available for FREE to all fans, plus live streams for Sky Sports customers.
Free-to-watch match highlights from EVERY WSL game will continue to be served up on the Sky Sports website and App.
