Chelsea kicked off the year 2025 with a move that hardly anyone saw coming. The Blues turned heads and raised eyebrows by splashing over $1 million to sign Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave. Already boasting a highly-rated squad filled with top-tier talent, the South West London side still chose to headline a record-breaking transfer—one of the most expensive in the history of the women’s game. But it looks like the WSL giants aren’t done adding flair to their ranks, as they’re now eyeing USWNT starlet Lily Yohannes.

The Ajax prodigy, who has been making waves in the Dutch league, is fancied by the Blues. They are hoping to sign her in the upcoming summer transfer window. This surprising report comes from the esteemed sources of ESPN, who stated that the 17-year-old has been on the club’s radar for quite some time.

It doesn’t end here as another source reports that even Yohannes is eyeing a potential move to Kingsmeadow, hoping to unite with her fellow USWNT teammates Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, and Mia Fishel. However, she still hasn’t made a concrete decision regarding her future.

Notably, Lily has a contract with Ajax until 2026, which she signed a couple of years ago. With one year remaining in her deal that keeps her with the Dutch giants, Chelsea is hoping to make the most of the situation. Not to mention the Springfield, Virginia native will turn 18 on June 12, making her potential transfer easier.

Part of Chelsea’s interest in Lily Yohannes stems from last season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign, where the talented midfielder faced the English side in the quarterfinals. Interestingly, at that time, the 8x WSL champions were still under the umbrella of Emma Hayes, who now leads the US Women’s National Team.

In fact, it was under the 48-year-old that Yohannes earned her first-ever senior USWNT debut during a friendly against South Korea in June 2024, which even saw the versatile midfielder net her first goal, even as she was trying to make up her mind as to whether she wanted to represent the USA or the Netherlands going forward.

But Yohannes, who represented the USA at the U15 and U16 levels in 2022 and later trained with the Netherlands’ youth setup in December 2023, ultimately chose to represent the Stars and Stripes. She even admitted that Hayes, along with several fellow American teammates, played a crucial role in her decision to commit to the United States.

Now what’s that Chelsea fans? Hoping your former manager and a few US-based players in London can work their magic again? Well, one can certainly hope. The ultimate call rests on the shoulders of Yohannes, who has made 18 appearances for Ajax to notch five goals and three assists.

Either way, it’s shaping up to be quite an interesting story, which also came just days after the club announced another remarkable development!

Naomi Girma and Co. welcome a new member at Chelsea!

On Wednesday, Alexis Ohanian announced that he has bought a 10% stake in Chelsea for around £20 million or close to $26.5 million. “I’ve bet big on women’s sports before—and I’m doing it again,” wrote the husband of Serena Williams, expressing his heartiest delight in adding another soccer team to his investment portfolio.

“I’m proud to announce that I’m joining @ChelseaFCW as an investor and board member. I’m honored for the chance to help this iconic club become America’s favorite, Barclays WSL team, and much, much more,” added the co-founder and investor of NWSL side Angel City. Notably, his investment has boosted Chelsea women’s value to a whopping £200 million or $265 million. 

This development also comes against the backdrop of the English giants successfully defending their 8th Women’s Super League title and sixth consecutively recently. However, a shambolic display in Europe against FC Barcelona during the UWCL semifinals, enduring a 2-8 defeat on aggregate, has somewhat tainted their season.

Yet, there stands a chance to add another trophy on Sunday with Sonia Bompastor and Co. facing Manchester United in the FA Women’s Cup final. Let’s see how it unfolds. In the meantime, ardent fans can pray for this deal to happen.