Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign the France forward Melvine Malard from Manchester United for a fee that would be a club-record sale.
It is understood the transfer fee could be as high as approximately £850,000, although some sources have suggested the deal will be closer to £750,000. The discussions are understood to be at the final stage and the move is expected to go through.
United attempted to agree a new contract with Malard, who has one year remaining on her existing deal, but it became clear that the forward’s desire was to seek a new challenge. United then did not wish to lose a high‑value player on a free transfer next summer.
It is expected United will reinvest the transfer fee into the team and Marc Skinner’s side will likely be busy in the transfer market, which is open until 3 September.
Malard is understood to have been a key target for Chelsea and they have tracked the former Lyon player for an extended period. The 26-year-old has previously played under the Chelsea manager, Sonia Bompastor, at Lyon and is understood to be looking forward to reuniting with the Frenchwoman. The two have a friendship that has lasted for more than a decade, since the coach encouraged her to swap the island of Réunion for Lyon as a youngster.
For Chelsea the move for Malard will strengthen their attacking options in a summer when they have also agreed a new contract for the England forward Aggie Beever-Jones.
Malard scored four Champions League goals last term to help United reach a maiden European quarter-final, as well as six times in the WSL in 18 starts. She was also part of the France squad that reached the knockout stages of Euro 2025 last summer.
Elsewhere, Arsenal have signed the 19-year-old Germany youth international forward Lisa Baum from the Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. Born in Tanzania, Baum moved to Germany aged four and has been a regular in their age-group sides.
“This league is so competitive and Arsenal is a big club, so I’m excited to challenge myself and compete with the best,” Baum told Arsenal’s club website. “I want to win trophies and develop my game, and Arsenal feels like the perfect match to achieve that.”
Everton have completed the signing of the France under-23 forward Noémie Mouchon on a free transfer from the recently relegated Leicester City. The 23-year-old told Everton’s website: “I am a fast player and I love to score goals, so I can’t wait. I just want to score a lot with Everton. That’s my only objective.”
Everton’s technical director, Nick Cox, said: “We are really pleased to strengthen our attacking options with the signing of Noémie. Unsurprisingly for a player of her talent, she was wanted by other clubs but was keen to sign for Everton and help us to progress.”
