Arsenal To Break World Record Fee By Signing Liverpool’s Olivia Smith For £1m

Arsenal person agreed nan first £1m transportation interest successful women’s shot aft Liverpool accepted a world-record connection for nan Canada guardant Olivia Smith, nan Guardian understands.

The 20-year-old is truthful group to go nan world’s first women’s subordinate to break nan £1m barrier, which was reached successful men’s shot successful 1979 erstwhile Trevor Francis joined Nottingham Forest from Birmingham City.

According to sources, nan interest agreed betwixt Arsenal and Liverpool exceeds nan US$1.1m dollars paid by Chelsea to motion nan United States centre-back Naomi Girma successful January, which group a caller women’s world grounds astatine nan time.

Smith scored 7 times successful 20 Women’s Super League appearances successful her debut play successful nan English crippled past word for Liverpool, who vanished seventh successful nan WSL. She netted conscionable nether a 3rd of nan team’s convention goals crossed nan campaign.

The young forward, who tin play arsenic a winger arsenic good arsenic playing successful a central-striker role, joined Liverpool for a club-record interest believed to beryllium conscionable complete £200,000 successful July 2024 from nan Portuguese nine Sporting, and is understood to person aggregate years remaining connected her statement astatine Liverpool, but Arsenal person been prepared to salary a sizeable sum to unafraid her services.

It is understood Liverpool initially rejected respective offers from galore clubs for Smith which were deemed unacceptable, but pinch nan statement pinch nan northbound London club, nan Merseyside outfit are group to person 5 times what they paid for Smith 12 months ago.

Arsenal are seeking to fortify and proceed their momentum aft winning nan Women’s Champions League title. They person already added Chloe Kelly connected a free transportation from Manchester City and person signed nan left-back Taylor Hinds connected different free transfer, aft Hinds’ Liverpool statement expired, but their move for Smith represents a acold much sizeable financial investment.

Prior to Girma’s move to Chelsea, nan Zambia world Racheal Kundananji’s move to Bay FC from Madrid CFF for a reported $860,000 successful 2024 had been nan world’s largest transportation sum for a women’s player.