Chelsea have completed the signing of Canadian Jessie Fleming on a three-year contract.
The 22-year-old midfielder has joined the Blues from UCLA Bruins, a football programme at the University of California, Los Angeles.
In 75 appearances and notched 25 goals for the UCLA Bruins.
Fleming has won a host of individual awards Canada Under-20s Female Player of the Year in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and the Under-17s Female Player of the Year in 2014. Fleming was also named in the Best XI in the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championships and was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which goes to the top college football player in the USA, in 2017 and 2019.
Fleming has represented her national team at Under-17s and Under-20s level before becoming the second-youngest player to ever play for Canada when she made her senior debut at the age of 15.
She becomes Chelsea’s third summer signing as they’ve brought in Niamh Charles and Melanie Leupolz ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Fleming told the Chelsea website ‘I knew I really wanted to play in the WSL, I think the league is doing really well right now and there is a ton of fantastic players in the league so that really excited me”.
‘For Chelsea it was the players here and I wanted to be in a challenging environment. Having conversations with Emma [Hayes] and learning a bit more about the team, I was just really excited about the environment and what it has to offer”.
Manager Emma Hayes added “Jessie is one of the top young players in the world, so for us to be able to sign her is a testament to the work that has been done here for a number of years. She chose Chelsea, this was her priority, her first choice and we were over the moon to get her”.
