Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Nations League - Group A - England v Netherlands - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - December 1, 2023 England's Keira Walsh in action REUTERS/Carl Recine/ File Photo
(Reuters) - Chelsea have signed England midfielder Keira Walsh from Barcelona on a four-and-a-half-year deal, the Women's Super League club said on Friday, with the 27-year-old keen to move closer to her family.
The move marks a return to English football for Walsh after two-and-a-half years with the Spanish club having joined Barcelona from Manchester City in Sept. 2022 for a then world record fee in women's soccer of 400,000 pounds ($495,920.00).
"I'll be honest, I didn't realise how difficult it would be to be away from my family and friends when I went abroad," Walsh said on Chelsea's official website.
"It's no secret that I wanted to come and wanted to play closer to my friends and family. Just having my family back in the stands, it's something I've just wanted for a long time."
Walsh had been with City since 2014, where she had won one WSL title and three FA Cups, and at Barcelona won eight trophies at Barcelona including two Champions League titles and two Spanish league wins.
The midfielder has made 80 appearances for England, winning Euro 2022 and a runner-up at the World Cup in 2023 and joins a Chelsea team who have a seven-point lead over Manchester United in the WSL, and their next game is at Aston Villa on Sunday.
The signing comes just days after Chelsea made Naomi Girma the first female million-dollar player, signing the United States defender to a for a world-record transfer fee reported by British media to be in the region of 900,000 pounds.
($1 = 0.8066 pounds)
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes)
