Arsenal Girls transfers: Gunners agree world-record payment for Olivia Smith from Liverpool Girls | Soccer Information
Arsenal Girls have agreed a world-record payment of £1m to signal Olivia Smith from Liverpool Girls.
The 20-year-old ahead can be the primary ladies’s participant to surpass the seven-figure barrier with Smith set to have a medical this week.
It could eclipse the $1.1m Chelsea paid San Diego Wave for Naomi Girma in January, which equates to round £890,000.
Smith performed in 20 WSL video games final season, scoring seven of Liverpool’s 22 objectives. The Reds completed seventh within the league.
Liverpool paid a club-record £210,000 to signal the ahead from Sporting Lisbon final summer season, which means they stand to make a revenue of slightly below £800,000.
The Reds are understood to have rejected a number of bids for Smith this summer season from golf equipment within the Girls’s Tremendous League and overseas.
In 2019, Smith, aged 15 years and 94 days grew to become the youngest individual to play for Canada. She has gone on to earn 18 caps for her nation.
Arsenal proceed so as to add to their squad after their Girls’s Champions League triumph in Might. They’ve already signed Chloe Kelly on a everlasting deal, in addition to former Liverpool defender Taylor Hinds on a free switch.
Arsenal making strikes to rival Chelsea
Evaluation from Sky Sports activities’ Laura Hunter:
This landmark has been a very long time within the making. What’s stunning is it is Arsenal smashing the proverbial glass ceiling, not Chelsea.
The Blues have traditionally had the deepest pockets of any WSL membership and usually are not afraid of splashing money. The £890,000 ($1.1m) deal for defender Naomi Girma in January was proof of such – allow us to not neglect they signed Keira Walsh in the identical window for an additional six-figure sum.
Now Arsenal are stepping as much as the desk, buoyed by their new standing as European champions. The subsequent step is after all to usurp Chelsea – who accomplished their six-peat final season – on the prime of the WSL. Enterprise geared in direction of attaining that has been good and fast this summer season.
Agreeing offers with Chloe Kelly and left-back Taylor Hinds, each on free transfers, was a promising begin. However the seize of Olivia Smith for a world-record payment is a transparent marker of amplified intent. The membership are backing Renee Slegers to make use of the momentum of Might’s Champions League triumph to spark a takeover.
In home phrases, Arsenal have trailed Chelsea for a few years. They’ve lived within the shadows of their west London rivals. Have the scales simply tipped within the Gunners favour?