Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
United States midfielder Croix Bethune has joined the Kansas City Current, and USWNT midfielder Claire Hutton has joined Bay FC, in a pair of separate seven-figure moves, the teams announced on Wednesday.
Kansas City will pay the Washington Spirit $1 million total for the transfer of Bethune, while Bay FC will pay the Current $1.1 million total in a separate transaction.
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Both players are young, rising stars with the USWNT and had previously only played for one NWSL club.
Bethune requested to be traded earlier this offseason, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN. Per the league’s collective bargaining agreement, all trades require player consent.
The transfers are the second and third highest in league history for intra-league deals behind the record set last year when Gotham FC paid $1.25 million to the North Carolina Courage for U.S. playmaker Jaedyn Shaw.
Kansas City will pay the Spirit $900,000 in intra-league transfer funds and $100,000 in allocation money to total $1 million for Bethune.
“We are grateful to Croix for her contributions over the past two seasons,” said President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter. “After conversations about her desire to explore development opportunities in a different environment, we were able to structure a deal that honored her request while securing significant value for our club, making it the third-highest intra-league transfer in NWSL history and a top ten mark globally.”
Bethune was drafted third overall by the Spirit in the 2024 NWSL Draft. That season, she tied the NWSL record for assists in a season (10) before sustaining a season-ending injury in late August. Despite missing the final two months of the season, Bethune was named Rookie of the Year, Midfielder of the Year and made the league’s first XI.
She also had her breakout year with the USWNT. Bethune was named as an alternate on the 2024 Olympic team and joined the Olympic gameday roster due to an injury to Shaw. Bethune made her Olympic debut in the group stage as part of the USWNT’s march to a fifth Olympic gold medal.
She has seven caps for the USWNT and scored her first international goal in her most recent appearance, a start in a 5-0 win over Chile.
Bethune is an attacking midfielder who typically plays as a No. 10. She helped the Spirit make a second straight NWSL Championship appearance last year.
Hutton is a defensive midfielder who took the league by storm as a teenager.
She signed with Kansas City as an 18-year-old ahead of the 2024 season and started 19 games for the Current.
Last year, she started in 22 games to help Kansas City win the NWSL Shield in historic fashion. Hutton was also named to the league’s first XI.
“Claire is an important signing for us. She’s a top-quality player who is tight on the ball, and she has the mobility and physical presence to break up play,” said head coach Emma Coates. “Despite her age she brings experience and a strong mentality, and we believe she has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world.”
Her form quickly resulted in regular call-ups to the USWNT this year. She has 13 caps and one goal internationally.
Hutton wore the captain’s armband for part of the USWNT’s 6-0 win over Paraguay last month. It was Hutton’s first time wearing the armband.
