Keira Walsh en route to Chelsea, for an astronomical fee

Following a variety of news reports this morning, sources have confirmed to Blaugranagram that (barring a major surprise) Keira Walsh will join England and former Barcelona teammate Lucy Bronze at Chelsea by the end of the day.

The certainty comes from the fact that Barcelona Femení has accepted a fee from the English champions for their English champion, and nothing is pending besides Walsh – who has wanted a return to England for personal reasons since last summer – signing on the dotted line.

Per reports, Walsh is in London to complete the deal.

What’s the fee?

At Blaugranagram we do not have confirmation of the exact fee value, but we have been told it is higher – perhaps much higher – than could be expected at this point in both the season and Walsh’s contract.

It is reportedly more than half, and perhaps even close to approaching, what Arsenal offered for Walsh in the summer. Half the fee for half the season is already above usual expectations, as the player will have missed pre-season and an important chance to familiarise themselves with their new squad during early stages of competition.

So for Chelsea to be paying out even more than that is incredible. After Barcelona Femení sports manager Marc Vivés took accountability for turning down Arsenal’s offer, it seemed like Barça would not be getting a fee for the inevitable departure of their most expensive player – and could only hope that Vivés’ promise that her role in the season would be worth it, would prove true.

It didn’t, Barça stringing Walsh along and missing out on a reported €1.1 million.

Vivés may have redeemed himself for this blunder by pushing Chelsea, who have made multiple offers during this transfer window, to an astronomical fee starting at €550.000. News from England suggest that what Chelsea will give Barça could rise to almost €1 million with add-ons that may or may not be met. Clauses for hitting this are expected to include Champions League performance and potentially a fear clause: a fee to be paid should Chelsea play Walsh in any matches against Barcelona for the remainder of the season.

This is because the UEFA Women’s Champions League does not cup-tie players who have only appeared in the group stage, leaving the option for Walsh to continue playing in the competition this season for Chelsea. And potentially against Barça in the later stages.

It is likely that the overpayment Walsh has drawn from Chelsea is because of this, because of how the move simultaneously strengthens Chelsea and weakens their main European rival in Barça. Wanting to prevent Walsh from joining their domestic rivals Arsenal for free at the end of the season will also be a motivation to keep upping the offer when Barça refused.