Could we see the first million-pound women's football player this summer?
The transfer window is open now and we wonder whether this summer could see the first million-pound transfer in women's football?
In recent months we have seen clubs spending vast amounts of money on players as they try to improve their team as much as possible.
During the Winter transfer window in England we saw Chelsea spend £384,000 plus £42,000 in potential add-ons on Colombian forward Mayra Ramirez from Levante UD.
At the time, this was a joint world-record fee excluding add-ons alongside the transfer in which Barcelona paid for Keira Walsh to join them in 2022 from Manchester City. Of course we know that this fee would go onto be broken by one of the NWSL’s expansion teams in Bay FC.
The San Francisco based club signed Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF in Spain for a fee of £685,000 making the Zambian forward the most expensive player ever in women’s football.
This poses the question of not just when, but who will be the first player in women’s football to cost a football club £1million. How soon can we expect to see a club spend that on a player?
With the summer window now here as clubs look to improve their team’s ahead of the 2024/25 season, could this summer finally be the transfer window in which it happens.
But who are the clubs that could potentially be the first to break the £1million mark?
Will a WSL club break the £1million mark?
In England, we have seen both Chelsea and Manchester City spend big on players, As previously mentioned Chelsea spent their biggest amount on Mayra Ramirez who has settled in well in her first six months with the London club. Whilst Manchester City spent big last summer bringing in Jill Roord from VfL Wolfsburg. So the possibility of those two spending big again isn’t out of the question.
Chelsea are heading into this season under a new manager. So could Sonia Bompastor look to her former team Lyon for a player to break the £1million mark and as for City, they are looking to end Chelsea’s run of five WSL titles in a row after going really close this prior season.
Elsewhere in the league, perhaps we could we see one of Manchester United or Arsenal break the bank as they aim to become more competitive in the WSL. Next season would offer a strong chance, however it feels like those two are unlikely to do so compared with the aforementioned sides.
United while they are going to be in need of transfers may not look yet to go crazy with money on their women’s team any time soon. Arsenal on the other hand potentially could be different. We have heard them make bids on players in the past that would acquaint to world record fees, but those deals never came to fruition.
What about another European club?
In terms of which sides from mainland Europe could be the first to break the £1million mark for a player it’s hard to look past your usual big names in Spain, France and Germany.
In Spain, Barcelona would be the most likely as we mentioned before they had been the record transfer fee holders when they signed Keira Walsh in 2022, as they look to continue their dominance in women’s football with them still the defending Champions League and Liga F winners. It’s hard to not think that they definitely would have the capability to do so if they wanted a player that badly or perhaps even sell a player amongst that price tag as well.
In France, the likes of Lyon and PSG will be the two sides more likely to spend in that region. Lyon are looking to continue to shine in all they do and could owner Michele Kang do it for her French side if they want to recapture the UWCL title. From a PSG perspective, they just want to eclipse Lyon and we know that their ownership aren’t too short in terms of finances. They’re aiming to take the next step up in their progress to building a team that can compete regularly for the D1 Féminine (now known as the Première Ligue from next season) and the UWCL.
In Germany, it will obviously be Bayern Munich or VfL Wolfsburg that will be the sides to do it given their dominance over the rest of the league. For Bayern, they have eclipsed Wolfsburg now it seems from a league standpoint, so it will be to help them do better in the UWCL where they have struggled to make a lasting impact so far. Where as for Wolfsburg, it could be this summer if they are looking to replace two big names in Lena Oberdorf who has joined Bayern Munich or Ewa Pajor who has left them for FC Barcelona.
The NWSL?
The National Women’s Soccer League is such an open league as to who could openly spend that amount on one player. As we have seen already in their short history, Bay FC aren’t afraid of spending big after the signing of Racheal Kundananji. We could also see sides like Angel City or Washington Spirit spend big on a player. If Angel City were to ever think of doing it, what helps them is the pull of living in Los Angeles and some of the celebrity names that are part of the ownership. Washington Spirit are owned by Michele Kang who is making her mark across women’s football and with former Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez joining them as head coach it’s hard to look past them as a a team that will look to be regularly competing at the top. So they will look to make signings that match that ambition.
What do you think on this? Could this summer’s transfer window finally see the first million-pound transfer in women’s football? Also, who do you think it could involve?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!