Record deal for Girma signals arrival of big-spending era in women’s football | Tom Garry

Chelsea are signing the USA defender for a world-record $1.1m but the big gap to the rest of the pyramid is unhealthy

When Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign the Colombia striker Mayra Ramirez for 450,000 (380,000) last January, the thought of that fee more than doubling in the space of a year might have sounded like a fanciful rate of inflation to some. But to those involved in the fast-evolving world of women's football transfer fees, this week's smashing of the $1m (810,000) barrier has been on the cards for a while.

With Chelsea understood to have agreed personal terms with the highly acclaimed United States defender Naomi Girma for her world-record-breaking $1.1m transfer from San Diego Wave, the prospect of the first 1m move is surely now a mere inevitability, and the rise in prices certainly will not stop there. Indeed, it could already have been comfortably smashed for a winger or a No 9. Girma is arguably the best defender in the world - Emma Hayes labelled her the best defender she had ever seen" - but she is, nonetheless, a defender. If a centre-back can attract a seven-figure transfer fee, what would the WSL's top goalscorer Khadija Shaw be worth, or the Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati?