Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Alyssa Thompson from Angel City.
The 20-year-old United States forward has signed a five-year contract after the clubs concluded a £1.1m deal.
Once potential add-ons are included, the club-record fee could eclipse Grace Geyoro’s world-record £1.43m move to London City Lionesses. Chelsea’s previous biggest outlay came in January, when they paid San Diego Wave £900,000 for US international defender Naomi Girma.
The transfer caps a summer of unprecedented spending in the Women’s Super League that began in earnest last month, when Olivia Smith moved from Liverpool to Arsenal last month, becoming the league’s first million-pound player.
Thompson, who missed Angel City’s 2-1 victory over Bay FC on Monday in anticipation of joining the English champions, scored 15 goals in 69 appearances for the Los Angeles-based side, including six in 16 games this season.
She becomes the third player to leave the BMO Stadium for the WSL, following London City Lionesses’ acquisition of Alanna Kennedy and Katie Zelem.
No introduction needed. 🥶
Alyssa Thompson is a Chelsea player. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/HwVSwLcz5E
— (C)helsea FC Women 🏆🏆🏆 (@ChelseaFCW) September 5, 2025
What did Alyssa Thompson say about joining Chelsea?
“Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world,” said Thompson, who has 22 caps and three goals for the US. “Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age and I want to learn, grow and develop a lot.
“I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in.”
Chelsea, who have won the past six WSL titles, will host Manchester City in the season opener on Friday night. The club went unbeaten in the league last term en route to claiming a domestic treble in Sonia Bompastor’s first campaign at the helm.
A difficult decision
“It was definitely a difficult decision to make to leave my family, my friends, and my home,” Thompson told the club website.
“I’ve never left home before but, once I heard about the offer, I really wanted to do it. I knew it would be so good for me. I felt like I’d be able to grow not just as a player, but also as a person.
“England is so different from the United States when it comes to football culture. Football is life here but, in the United States, we have a bunch of different sports that other people like to watch.
“I’m really excited about being part of a culture that really is just all about football.”
