In a joint story with BBC Sport’s Emma Sanders, Arseblog News understands that Chelsea are the current front runners to sign Katie McCabe. The Ireland captain, who will leave the club when her contract expires on June 30, also attracted strong interest from Manchester City and the NWSL.
City had been hopeful of adding McCabe and they are set to sign Beth Mead, however, a prospective deal for McCabe was never as advanced as it was for Mead for City. Our understanding is that Chelsea are now in pole position to do the deal.
Chelsea also tried to sign the player in January 2023 but Arsenal firmly rejected the offer. She also drew interest from Lyon in the summer of 2024 and the club also firmly rebuffed an offer on that occasion.
There had been a resolution not to extend McCabe’s current contract for some time but the club had a change of heart when the player performed excellently at centre-half in Champions League ties against Chelsea and Lyon this season. The late offer of a new deal meant the player’s departure couldn’t be announced for the final home game of the season.
Katie joined the club in the summer of 2015 and won a WSL title, a Champions League, an FA Cup, a FIFA Champions Cup and four League Cups during her time at the club. Emma and I understand from a variety of sources that she is now likely to stay in the capital.