Angel City forward and U.S. women's national team winger Alyssa Thompson is set to join Chelsea FC at the transfer deadline. A verbal agreement is in place for a fee under the £1 million mark according to The Athletic. Sources stateside have confirmed to CBS Sports that Thompson's move is imminent, though the transfer fee number is not yet finalized.
The current reported fee would equate to $1.3 million, making Thompson one of the most expensive transfers in women's football history. Reigning NWSL Champions Orlando Pride recently set a new record of $1.5 million with the new acquisition of Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle from Liga MX Femenil's Tigres Femenil.
The 20-year-old USWNT international signed a contract with Angel City earlier this year, a new deal through 2028, alongside her sister, defender Gisele Thompson. Once official, a five-year contract with Chelsea is in place for the rising star, who first cracked a major USWNT roster during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The winger has already completed a medical and is set to join the WSL-winning Chelsea for the upcoming season.
The attention around the transfer is significant for the global market, as rising fees and valuations increase. The move also highlights the growing financial power of top NWSL and European clubs and their ability to attract top talent across leagues. Thompson's arrival at Chelsea will place her among an already strong offensive side.
Though the Blues striker Mayra Ramirez is rehabbing from hamstring surgery, Sam Kerr is back at full fitness following an ACL injury, and Lauren James, Guro Reiten, Aggie Beaver Jones and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd are among Chelsea's attackers. The move will also reunite Thompson with USWNT teammates Catarina Macario and Naomi Girma.
While Thompson's departure is a blow to Angel City's playoff hopes, a potential substantial fee can provide resources for future high-profile moves.
What it means for Angel City and NWSL
If the global market was unfamiliar with Thompson before, that's no longer the case moving forward. After a record-setting arrival to the league as a high-school player, where Angel City traded with Portland Thorns and Gotham FC to ensure the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, the Los Angeles side spent $450,000 to welcome her to her hometown club.
Her fearless feats on the ball quickly got the attention of NWSL fans, and her early goal scoring and play making earned her a spot on the U.S. national team for the 2023 World Cup. In her two and a half seasons in NWSL, she's scored 15 goals and notched 11 assists. The winger is on a bounce back year, after managing a minor back injury in early 2024, and has plenty of MVP chatter around her 2025 season with Angel City.
The 20-year-old is considered to be Angel City's best player with the ability to both score and set up teammates. A top prospect still years out from her prime, her move overseas would be considered a major loss for a club that is currently in a playoff push, and for a league that boasts it is a top-flight place where the best in the world play.
What it means for Alyssa Thompson
No move like this happens unless a player wants it to come to fruition. With a new era in rising transfer market values for women's soccer players, Thompson is getting the opportunity to grow her career in a way that star players before her may not have. It's also a chance to develop her game in a new environment.
Thompson has long been tied to American youth systems before turning pro, including Total Futbol Academy, a boys' club in MLS Next, Major League Soccer's academy system.
The California native turned pro and played with her hometown NWSL team, and has continued her ascent as a next-gen prolific player in the league. But during Thompson's short two and a half years with Angel City, she's had four different coaches. Between full-time managers and interim head coaches with Freya Coombe, Becki Tweed, Sam Laity, and now Alex Strauss, the instability is notable.
Stability, with a five-year deal and opportunity to develop into one's prime career years, at a top club like Chelsea, is lucrative for many prospects. With roster management already part of Chelsea's start to the 2025-26 campaign, with injuries to starters Mayra Ramirez and Lauren James, the timing seems right to make her way into the roster as a potential starter.
What it means for the USWNT
U.S. national team head coach Emma Hayes has been vocal about developing young players at their own pace. The skipper reignited the U-23 program alongside various international windows in 2025 alongside the senior national team. The former Chelsea FC manager is familiar with success in London. Hayes won 15 trophies with the Blues before being named to the lead position with the USWNT, including seven league titles and five FA cups.
It also means a one-time next-gen prospect elevates to a present-day profile player. An injury in 2024 kept Thompson off the USWNT rosters for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics. Her 2025 season has gone the complete opposite way. With typical starting forwards unavailable for selection throughout the year, the winger has quickly gone from bench-depth player to key starter.
The USWNT's exciting "Triple Espresso" attacking line of Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman didn't exist in 2025. Wilson and her husband recently welcomed a baby, while Swanson is expecting. Rodman has missed large stretches of matches for club and country as she manages a back injury. If the intersection of timing and opportunity is everything, 2025 has aligned for Thompson.
