Barca agree world-record fee for Man City’s Keira Walsh

Barcelona have agreed a world-record fee with Manchester City for midfielder Keira Walsh.

There is slight conjecture over the potential fee, with some sources suggesting it is around £350k and others indicating the deal will be more in the long-term.

The previous world record is believed to be Pernille Harder’s £300k move to Chelsea from Wolfsburg in September 2020. However, US deals involve allocation fees and trade assets so final fees are undisclosed.

Man City have reluctantly agreed to sell Walsh after rejecting multiple offers from Barca this summer. Walsh is in the final year of her contract and is keen on the move.

The deal has to be completed by the time the Spanish deadline for foreign deals runs out at 11pm BST on Wednesday.

Man City are looking at replacements for Walsh before Thursday’s WSL transfer deadline.

Walsh played a key role for England as they won Euro 2022 this summer and was named player of the match in the final as the Lionesses beat Germany at Wembley.

Since making her City debut in July 2014, the 25-year-old has made 189 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals. She has 49 caps for England.

City have already lost several key players ahead of the new WSL season, with Caroline Weir joining Real Madrid, Georgia Stanway signing for Bayern Munich and Lucy Bronze moving to Barcelona.