The 10 most expensive WSL transfers of all time
Cameron Smith
- 15 Sep 2023 03:40 CDT
- 7 min read
The Women’s Super League (WSL) is the female equivalent of the Premier League and was established in 2010, although the division didn’t actually begin until 2011.
Previously, the top flight of women’s football in England had been known as the FA Women’s Premier League National Division.
Unlike the 20 clubs that compete in the Premier League, there are only 12 professional clubs in the WSL, with one team relegated to the Championship each year.
Another vast difference between the Premier League and the WSL is the finances involved.
While the top flight of the men’s game possesses some of the richest owners in world sport, the WSL operates on a far smaller budget, which means that wages and transfer fees are significantly lower than in the Premier League.
For example, the Premier League record transfer stands at €121 million, thanks to Enzo Fernandez's move from Benfica to Chelsea in January 2023. That fee could be exceeded by fellow Blues star Moises Caicedo, if add-ons clauses are met.
By comparison, Jill Roord is the most expensive player in WSL. It cost Manchester City €350,000 to sign her from VfL Wolfsburg in July 2023.
READ MORE: The top 10 highest paid women’s footballers in the world
The 10 most expensive WSL transfers of all time
| Player | From | To | Year | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jill Roord | VfL Wolfsburg | Man City | 2023 | €350k |
| =2. Bethany England | Chelsea | Tottenham | 2023 | €290k |
| =2. Pernille Harder | VfL Wolfsburg | Chelsea | 2020 | €290k |
| 4. Lauren James | Man Utd | Chelsea | 2021 | €234k |
| 5. Mia Fishel | Tigres | Chelsea | 2023 | €227k |
| 6. Julie Blakstad | Rosenborg BK | Man City | 2022 | €196k |
| 7. Mary Fowler | Montpellier | Man City | 2022 | €190k |
| 8. Gabby George | Everton | Man Utd | 2023 | €175k |
| 9. Kyra Cooney-Cross | Hammarby | Arsenal | 2023 | €163k |
| 10. Hanna Bennison | Rosengrad | Everton | 2021 | €160k |
10. Hanna Bennison - €160,000 (from Rosengrad to Everton, 2021)
Sweden international Hanna Bennison joined Everton from Rosengrad for a reported fee of €160,000 in 2021, as the club broke their transfer record to sign the 18-year-old.
Bennison was one of three players from Sweden’s 2020 Olympic Games team to join Everton in 2021, along with Nathalie Bjorn and Anna Anvegard. Sweden finished as runners-up to Canada at the Tokyo Games.
She received Everton’s ‘Young Player of the Year’ award in her first season at the club.
9. Kyra Cooney-Cross - €163,000 (from Hammarby to Arsenal, 2023)
Arsenal rounded off an impressive 2023 summer transfer window with the addition of Hammarby's Kyra Cooney-Cross, fresh from her eye-catching performances for Australia at the Women's World Cup.
The midfielder joined the Gunners for an initial €163k, although that fee could rise as high as €290k if add-ons are met. That would make her the joint-second most expensive WSL player in history.
That fee is particularly noteworthy given Cooney-Cross would've been a free agent in January, but Arsenal were keen to fight off competition from Chelsea and Manchester United.
8. Gabby George - €175,000 (from Everton to Man Utd, 2023)
A Deadline Day 2023 signing, Man Utd decided to trigger Gabby George's €175,000 (£150,000) release clause at Everton as the Toffees were reluctant to let the defender leave.
The transfer marked a return for George as the Manchester native had initially come through United's academy before spending almost a decade on Merseyside.
7. Mary Fowler - €190,000 (from Montpellier to Man City, 2022)
Mary Fowler made her senior Australia debut at just 15 years old and joined Man City four years later having already played for four different clubs in her teenage years.
Fowler netted 17 goals in just 10 Australia U20 caps, which prompted her call-up to the senior national team set-up. She scored one WSL goal in her first season in the competition as Man City finished fourth - their lowest position since 2014.
6. Julie Blakstad - €196,000 (from Rosenborg BK to Man City, 2022)
Julie Blakstad’s move from Rosenborg to Man City was the third most expensive transfer in WSL history at the time, with the Norwegian arriving in England with high expectations after being included in UEFA’s list of 10 footballers to watch out for in 2021, 12 months before she signed for City.
Blakstad was just 20 when she joined Man City, but she was soon ousted from the left-wing position by Lauren Hemp and was loaned to Swedish top-flight club BK Hacken in March 2023.
5. Mia Fishel - €227,000 (from Tigres to Chelsea, 2023)
It was a surprise when American forward Mia Fishel decided to move to Mexican giants Tigres after leaving college. Despite being selected by the Orlando Pride in the NWSL draft, the prolific UCLA Bruins attacker opted to move south in search of championship glory, winning the 2022 Liga MX Apertura and the Campeon de Campeones.
Her goalscoring exploits in Mexico - finding the net 38 times in 48 games - prompted Chelsea to cough up €227,000 in August 2023.
4. Lauren James - €235,000 (from Manchester United to Chelsea, 2021)
The younger sister of Chelsea star Reece, Lauren James joined her brother in West London in 2021 following an impressive spell at Man Utd.
The forward scored 14 goals in 18 league games to help guide Man Utd to promotion to the WSL in the 2018/19 season, and she even scored the club’s first-ever goal in the top flight of English women’s football.
She ended the Red Devils’ debut campaign in the WSL as their top scorer with six strikes in 12 appearances and was shortlisted for the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year.
James had a stint at Chelsea from Under-10s to Under-14s and returned to the club in 2021 in a historic move that saw brother and sister reunite at the same club. Before joining Man Utd, James made her senior debut for Arsenal, becoming the second youngest female player to achieve this feat at the age of 16.
She’d even begun training with the first team one year earlier. She joined Chelsea on a four-year contract aged just 19.
=2. Pernille Harder - €290,000 (from Wolfsburg to Chelsea, 2020)
Harder joined Chelsea from Wolfsburg in 2020 to become the world’s most expensive female footballer at the time. She cost Chelsea a fee in excess of €294,000, which broke a 20-year record for a signing in the women’s game.
Harder has won UEFA’s Women’s Player of the Year on two occasions, is a seven-time Danish Female Footballer of the Year winner and has won eight league titles in her career.
She also has over 250 career goals to her name, and netted 27 Bundesliga goals in 21 games in her final season at Wolfsburg to set the highest tally ever recorded in a single campaign in the division’s history.
Harder netted 17 goals in her debut campaign at Chelsea, helping the side win the WSL and reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history.
After that run to the final Harder was selected in the competition’s Team of the Season for the fifth consecutive year. She left Chelsea to join Bayern Munich in 2023.
=2. Beth England - €290,000 (from Chelsea to Tottenham, 2023
Tottenham splashed the cash on Beth England in January 2023, paying around €290,000 to bring the 28-year-old to the club from rivals Chelsea. A regular scorer for club and country, she was part of the England squad that won the European Championships in 2022 and is a four-time WSL winner.
The transfer broke the domestic record for a women's player and England penned a contract until 2026.
1. Jill Roord - €350,000 (from Wolfsburg to Man City, 2023
England’s British record didn’t last long, however, as it was broken after less than six months when Manchester City splashed €350,000 to lure Netherlands international Jill Roord away from VfL Wolfsburg.
The midfielder previously starred for Arsenal between 2019 and 2021 before she joined Wolfsburg and left the German club having scored 31 goals in just 69 appearances.
