Chelsea have agreed a deadline-day deal to sign England star Keira Walsh from Barcelona.
Walsh signed for the Spanish giants in 2022 for what was then a world-record fee, having just played a major part in the Lionesses’s European Championship triumph on home soil.
The midfielder has since won back-to-back Champions League and Spanish league titles but is due to be out of contract in the summer.
Walsh was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal last summer, but is now set to secure a return to the WSL with Chelsea ahead of Thursday’s 11pm deadline.
It was initially reported that the fee would be as high as £800,000, but Standard Sport understands it is only around half that.
The deal will be Chelsea’s second major transfer of the January window, following last week’s signing of Naomi Girma for a world-record fee.
The US international defender joined from San Diego Wave for a £900,000 fee, becoming the first women’s player to be sold for more than $1million.
Girma was presented at Stamford Bridge ahead of Sunday’s vital 1-0 win over Arsenal.
The victory has Sonia Bompastor’s side seven points clear at the top of the WSL as they target a sixth straight title, but first since the summer departure of Emma Hayes.
