United States women's national team forward Alyssa Thompson has signed for Chelsea from NWSL side Angel City FC.
Sources told ESPN that Chelsea will pay Angel City an initial fee close to $1.3 million (£1m).
The deal could potentially reach near $2m (£1.5m) with add-ons, a source said, but will not surpass the world-record transfer completed earlier Friday when the London City Lionesses signed Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth £1.43 million ($1.9m), according to ESPN sources.
Chelsea held significant interest in Thompson, and the hamstring injury to Mayra Ramírez -- who is set to be out until 2026, a source said -- further accelerated their pursuit of the 20-year-old.
Sources had told ESPN previously that Chelsea had scouted Thompson and her youngster sister, Gisele, 19, who remains with Angel City.
Alyssa Thompson becomes the latest USWNT player to join the west London club, joining Catarina Macario and Naomi Girma.
Thompson, who had signed a new three-year contract with Angel City in January, sat out the team's NWSL match Monday and was listed as an excused absence. Coach Alexander Straus, who took the job in June, said after Monday's 2-1 victory over Bay FC that the previous days had been "difficult."
Since being drafted as the No.1 pick in the 2023 draft, Thompson has made 62 appearances for the club and scored 15 goals in the NWSL. This season, she has scored six goals in 16 league appearances.
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"Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world," Thompson said on Friday. "Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age and I want to learn, grow and develop a lot.
"I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."
Paul Green, head of women's football at Chelsea said: "We're delighted to bring Alyssa to the club. She's a dynamic winger with electric pace, who can play on either wing and is very good in one-on-one situations. Alyssa is one of the best and most exciting young players in the world, and we're looking forward to seeing how she develops further during her time with Chelsea."
The forward has been capped 22 times for the U.S. women's national team after debuting at 17.
Chelsea begin their Women's Super League campaign with an eye-catching curtain-raiser against Manchester City on Friday.
Information from ESPN's Emily Keogh, Jeff Kassouf and Charlotte Gibson contributed to this report.