Chelsea

Chelsea have reportedly agreed to pay the San Diego Wave a record-setting $1.1 million transfer fee for USWNT star defender Naomi Girma, per Meg Linehan of The Athletic.

Girma—who is still negotiating a new contract with the Blues, per that report—would become the first woman to ever secure a transfer fee over $1 million.

According to Linehan, Lyon was also in hot pursuit of Girma and was willing to exceed $1 million in a transfer fee, and interest around Europe was widespread, though Arsenal reportedly were "not among the final contenders."

Girma is one of the top defenders in the world and arguably the best center-back in the women's game at the moment.

"She's the best defender I've ever seen," USWNT head coach Emma Hayes told reporters during the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Girma played every minute for her country and earned a gold medal in the process. "Ever."

Alongside that gold medal, her career accomplishments include 44 career appearances for the USWNT; winning the NWSL Shield and Challenge Cup with the Wave; the Women's College Cup at Stanford; and being named the 2022 NSWL Rookie of the Year, the NSWL Defender of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023.

The fact that she wasn't among the finalists for the 2024 women's Ballon d'Or was shocking. Her USWNT teammates, Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Swanson, were all ranked in the top 10.

"Yes, we could sit here all day and say Girma should be there—which she should—so for that reason, we're still not getting all those things right in the women's game," Hayes told reporters at the time. "But recognizing the talent of our players on the world stage is something that I know our players are extremely proud of, so really good all round for us."

But Chelsea clearly see Girma as one of the sport's truly elite players, breaking transfer records to bring her to London.

Chelsea Football Club released a statement Wednesday that condemned racist behavior from Enzo Fernández and his Argentina teammates following the national team's victory over Colombia in Sunday's Copa América final.

"Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable," the statement read. "We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.

"We acknowledge and appreciate our player's public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate. The Club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure."

In addition to playing for his country, Fernández also suits up for Chelsea in the Premier League.

As ESPN's Adriana Garcia noted, this comes after Fernández posted a video on social media that showed him and his teammates "singing offensive chants that singled out France players of African heritage."

Some Argentina fans also participated in the same chants ahead of the 2022 World Cup final between the two nations.

Fernández issued an apology that said, in part, "that video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry."

His Chelsea teammate and member of the French national team, Wesley Fofana, posted that the video showed "uninhibited racism."

Matias Grez of CNN reported that the French Football Federation (FFF) released a statement and said it will file a legal complaint over the situation.

"The President of the FFF, Phillipe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks which were made against players of the French team in the form of a chant sung by the players and supporters of the Argentinian team after their victory in the Copa America, which was shared in a video on social media," the statement read.

"The president of the FFF decided to directly appeal to his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for racially offensive and discriminatory remarks."

Grez also cited a FIFA spokesperson who said the organization is "aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into."

The incident was one of multiple that marred the Copa América tournament.

An altercation involving multiple Uruguayan players spread into the stands following Colombia's semifinal win at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, the final between Colombia and Argentina was delayed for more than an hour amid the chaos that unraveled when thousands of fans without tickets entered Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.

Argentina eventually defeated Colombia 1-0 in extra time in a game that saw Lionel Messi exit with an ankle injury.

Chelsea are reportedly in agreement on a contract to make Enzo Maresca their new head coach following the depature of Mauricio Pochettino.

World football insider Fabrizio Romano reported Tuesday that Chelsea and Maresca have agreed to a five-year deal that runs through 2029. The contract also includes an option for 2030.

Maresca had been the manager at Leicester City since June 2023, and Romano noted that Chelsea must pay the Foxes a compensation fee in exchange for hiring the Italian away from the club.

After a somewhat surprising relegation from the English Premier League to the EFL Championship, Leicester turned to Maresca prior to the 2023-24 season.

With Maresca at the helm, the Foxes won 31 matches, drew four and lost 11, which was good for 97 points. That earned them the 2023-24 Championship title and promotion back to the Premier League for next season.

The 44-year-old had an extensive playing career as a midfielder with notable clubs such as Juventus, Fiorentina, Sevilla and Olympiacos before breaking into coaching in 2020.

He spent two seasons as head coach of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad, winning the Premier League 2 title in 2021. That led to his hiring as manager at Parma, but he was sacked after just one season.

He returned to Manchester City to serve as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola for the 2022-23 season, winning a Premier League title in the process.

Maresca then led a quick turnaround at Leicester, and he will now be tasked with guiding one of the biggest clubs in England out of the doldrums.

Per ESPN's James Olley, Chelsea and Pochettino mutually agreed to part ways last week after the Argentinian led the Blues to a sixth-place finish in the 2023-24 season.

While it marked a significant improvement from Chelsea's 12th-place finish the previous year, it also continued the club's Premier League title drought, as they have not won the EPL since 2017.

Given that Chelsea won the league five times from 2005 to 2017, there is an expectation for them to contend for a title on an annual basis, but they haven't done so as of late.

ESPN's Mark Ogden reported prior to Maresca's hiring that Chelsea were also considering former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi and Brentford manager Thomas Frank for their opening.

Ogden also reported that Leicester were expecting to receive about £9 million ($11.5 million) in compensation in the event of Chelsea hiring Maresca.

Chelsea received permission from Leicester City to formally interview manager Enzo Maresca, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Ornstein reported the Blues and Maresca are expected to strike a bargain on a contract that would run for at least five years.

Mark Ogden of ESPN reported Leicester could collect around £9 million ($11.5 million) as compensation for allowing the 44-year-old Italian to break his contract and leave.

Maresca's first foray into club management came with Manchester City's youth team in 2020, guiding the side to a Premier League 2 table. From there, he had a brief spell at Parma, which earned just 17 points in his 13 Serie B matches.

After working as the assistant manager under Manchester City's Pep Guardiola for the 2022-23 season, Maresca was hired by Leicester.

The Foxes gained promotion back to the top flight after winning the EFL Championship, and their on-pitch identity helped burnish their manager's reputation. According to FBref, Leicester led the league in expected goals (84.9) and had the second-highest possession rate (61.6 percent) behind Southampton.

While Maresca's stock is clearly on the rise, his likely hire will be met with plenty of skepticism.

Targeting a coach with a progressive playing style and experience in developing talent makes sense for Chelsea when it has spent so much on signing young players with a lot of room to grow.

But Maresca is totally unproven with a club of this size and ambition.

Taking the Leicester job meant accepting a level of pressure because immediate promotion was the goal. Moving to Stamford Bridge and taking Chelsea back to the pinnacle of English football is a much bigger challenge.

Then there's the reputation Chelsea's ownership has already built since assuming control in May 2022.

Thomas Tuchel got the boot months after the group's arrival, the Champions League title he delivered in 2021 along with UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup titles buying him little internal equity.

Graham Potter succeeded him and was ostensibly tasked with executing the same long-term vision that will be laid before Maresca. Instead, he didn't even make it seven full months before he was out of a job.

Like Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino was a more proven solution and one who consistently helped nurture younger stars at his previous stops. He left by mutual consent after one year of what sounds like an ill-fated partnership.

Whether Maresca is actually good enough for Chelsea and whether he'll be afforded the time he needs are two questions that will loom large over the ensuing months.

While Chelsea and Liverpool battled on the pitch Sunday, the two clubs were also fighting behind the scenes to land Moisés Caicedo.

Sunday's matchup ended in a 1-1 draw, but it was the Blues who landed the Brighton midfielder in what was reported as a record-setting, $146 million transfer, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein and Simon Johnson.

The move was made official on Monday:

The Caicedo transfer saga became particularly epic over the past week.

For much of the summer, Chelsea were considered the frontrunners to land him. But on Friday, Liverpool swooped in and agreed to a £111 million ($146 million) transfer with Brighton.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp even confirmed that agreement in a press conference.

"I can confirm the [Moises Caicedo] deal with the club is agreed, whatever that means in the end," he told reporters. "Of course, we want the player and not just the agreement. We don't have endless resources. We didn't expect a couple of things to happen over the summer, but when that happened, we gave it a go. Let's see what happens and we'll go from there."

The issue for the Reds was that Caicedo preferred a move to Stamford Bridge, and reportedly had already agreed to contract terms with Chelsea:

Once the Blues went back to the negotiating table and beat Liverpool's offer to Brighton, the deal was set in motion, much to Liverpool's chagrin.

Sunday's matchup between the clubs was a good indication of why both wanted Caicedo. Neither club had much issues getting into their attack, in part because neither side offered much in the way of resistance in the midfield.

It was open, end-to-end football that was lovely to watch for neutrals but would spell disaster for both sides over the course of a long season, especially against top contenders like Manchester City and Arsenal.

For Chelsea, the 21-year-old will not only offer a midfield anchor to help support the defense—a much-needed addition after N'Golo Kanté was swayed by the riches of Saudi Arabia— but he'll also allow last season's splash signing, Enzo Fernández, more freedom to get forward.

That pair should handle the middle of the park in Mauricio Pochettino's 3-4-3 setup. The Blues have made a lot of incoming and outgoing deals since last year's shocking spending spree, but none more important than Caicedo.

Chelsea has entered the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé, according to the Independent's Jamie Gardner.

"Sources close to PSG have indicated the Blues' co-owner Todd Boehly is trying to put together a deal for the 24-year-old, who seems certain to leave Paris either for a fee this summer or for nothing next year," Gardner reported.

Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal lodged a formal bid for Mbappé, but he reportedly declined to entertain any contract offers to scupper any agreement. Al-Hilal was prepared to offer a reported $776 million salary.

French newspaper L'Equipe (via Marca) reported Barcelona was prepared to discuss an Mbappé transfer. In an even more stunning turn, the Daily Mirror's John Richardson reported Liverpool was weighing a one-year loan move for the four-time Ligue 1 Player of the Year.

But the Telegraph's Tom Morgan reported Mbappé "remains determined to realize his dream of moving to Real Madrid in 11 months time when he can leave PSG as a free agent."

Todd Boehly has spent extravagantly since assuming control of Chelsea in May 2022. The Blues would seemingly have the financial might necessary to execute what would be the most expensive transfer in world football history.

Plenty of fans will argue Mbappé is so good the club can't turn down the opportunity to land him as well.

Some might counter, however, this signing would reflect what has been the club's biggest problem during Boehly's brief tenure. Too many transfers were made without consideration of how the squad fits together.

The Blues have already signed a pair of forwards, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, during the summer window, and Romelu Lukaku continues to call Stamford Bridge home for the time being. Nkunku or Jackson might suddenly get marginalized with Mbappé playing through the center.

Were manager Mauricio Pochettino to line up Mbappé out left, that would potentially cause some tactical issues with Mykhaylo Mudryk. The 22-year-old, who arrived for an initial cost of €70 million in January, should be a big long-term piece in the attacking line.

This could be much ado about nothing if Real Madrid remains in pole position to secure Mbappé's services. There's nothing stopping him from seeing out his PSG deal and signing a pre-contract agreement with the Spanish giant starting from January 2024.

And for Chelsea, losing out on the Mbappé sweepstakes wouldn't be the end of the world given how the Blues have already added to their forward ranks.