Olivia Smith is poised to become the world’s first women’s player to break the £1m transfer barrier after Liverpool accepted a world-record offer from Arsenal for the 20-year-old Canada forward.
The fee agreed between Arsenal and Liverpool, according to sources, exceeds the $1.1m paid by Chelsea for the USA centre-back Naomi Girma in January.
Smith scored seven times in 20 Women’s Super League appearances in her debut season in the English game last term for Liverpool, who finished seventh in the WSL. She netted just under a third of the team’s league goals across the campaign.
The young forward, who can play as a winger as well as in a central-striker role, joined Liverpool for a club-record fee believed to be just over £200,000 in July 2024 from the Portuguese club Sporting, and is understood to have multiple years remaining on her contract at Liverpool, but Arsenal have been prepared to pay a sizeable sum to secure her services.
It is understood Liverpool initially rejected several offers from numerous clubs for Smith, but with the agreement with the north London club, the Merseysiders are ready to receive five times what they paid for Smith 12 months ago.
Arsenal are seeking to strengthen and continue their momentum after winning the Women’s Champions League. They have already added Chloe Kelly on a free transfer from Manchester City and have signed the left-back Taylor Hinds on another free, after Hinds’ Liverpool contract expired, but their move for Smith represents a far more sizeable financial investment.
Before Girma’s move to Chelsea, the Zambia international Racheal Kundananji’s move to Bay FC from Madrid CFF for a reported $860,000 in 2024 had been the world’s biggest fee for a women’s player.
