Chelsea have signed Russia defender Alsu Abdullina in a two-and-a-half-year deal from Lokomotiv Moscow.
The left-back will start at the Women’s Super League club in January and scored six goals in 46 appearances for Lokomotiv last season.
“I am so happy to join Chelsea,” the 20-year-old said. “This is a big change in my life, a new challenge. I am very proud to be part of this team, which has so many great players.
“I want to continue to develop as a player and progress in London. I want to help the team to win as many trophies as possible.”
Abdullina’s skills will be welcomed by manager Emma Hayes as the Blues have lacked support in defence in some outings this season. The reigning WSL champions were knocked out of the Women’s Champions League by Wolfsburg after a 4-0 defeat and Reading caused an upset by beating Chelsea 1-0 earlier this month.
Hayes’ side have still be impressive this campaign as they won the FA Cup and are currently second in the WSL table. That’s thanks to the manager’s development of the team over the years and Hayes hopes Abdullina will add to that.
The boss said: “Alsu is a versatile player who can play any position on the left, adding more depth to the squad. We look forward to seeing how she develops in our environment over the next couple of years.”
Chelsea will next be in action on 7 January in a WSL match against Tottenham. There most recent match, a league fixture with West Ham, was postponed due to Covid cases at the Blues.
The club said in a statement: “The decision was agreed between both teams and the FA after a number of positive tests for Covid-19 were returned within the Chelsea FC Women’s team set-up after the last round of testing on return to the UK.
“Those affected immediately began a period of self-isolation in accordance with Public Health England and Government guidelines.”
