Chelsea agree deadline-day deal for Barca's Walsh

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Barcelona's England midfielder Keira Walsh on the Women's Super League's transfer deadline day.

Sources at Barcelona said the fee was £800,000, including add-ons, but sources at Chelsea said the basic fee was lower.

Barcelona had been unwilling to sell but it is believed Chelsea's bid was accepted late on Wednesday, and Walsh was due in London for a medical on Thursday.

The 27-year-old, who left Manchester City to join Barcelona for a then world record fee of £400,000 in 2022, was keen to return to England to be close to family.

The fee is believed to be under the world record transfer Chelsea paid for USA defender Naomi Girma earlier this month.

Chelsea's interest in Walsh has been long-standing and the club have been looking to bolster their midfield options since the summer.

Walsh told Barcelona in September that she did not wish to extend her contract, with it due to expire in six months' time.

Arsenal had maintained their interest but Walsh's preference has always appeared to lean towards Chelsea.

It is another huge signing for Chelsea with Walsh becoming the second most expensive female footballer in the world.

During her time at Barcelona, Walsh has won back-to-back league titles and the Champions League.

It has been a huge month for Chelsea as they have broken multiple records to sign some of the world's best players.

They brought in Girma, widely regarded as the best centre-back in the world, and now Walsh for the two biggest transfer fees in the women's game.

Chelsea have made no secret that their intention is to win the Women's Champions League and they have backed manager Sonia Bompastor to do that.

Despite featuring for Barcelona in the group stages of the competition, Walsh is eligible to register for Chelsea from the start of the quarter-finals.

They remain unbeaten in the WSL with a seven-point lead at the top of the table and are in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup and the semi-finals of the Women's League Cup as they chase a quadruple.

By signing Walsh they have found cover for injured midfielder Sophie Ingle, who has missed the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, as well as taken a key player away from European rivals Barcelona.

Walsh was always keen to return home having felt like she had achieved all she could in Barcelona and it means she will be close to family in the build-up to Euro 2025.