Chelsea Women set to sign off-pitch rebel to be new number one

It appears as though Chelsea Women have won the race to sign Hannah Hampton this summer after she took in a Blues game last season.

Hampton has indeed established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Women’s Super League and all at just the tender age of 22 years old, however, it’s what’s happened off the field that’s gathered interest over the last few months.

The England international was dropped for a period of time by Aston Villa manager, Carla Ward, a move that only become more bizarre when Hampton herself put an Instagram post on showcasing she was at Villa’s game against Chelsea.

While that may not seem unusual, she wasn’t with her other teammate that didn’t make the squad, but instead turned up unannounced and sat amongst supporters of Chelsea, which kickstarted rumours about her future.

Chelsea closing in on Hannah Hampton

Hampton eventually reclaimed the number one shirt at Villa towards the back end of the season and racked up five clean sheets in 15 appearances, which also included a 64% save percentage in the WSL (FBRef).

Despite Chelsea already having two big-name number ones in the form of Zecira Musovic and Ann-Katrin Berger that are constantly fighting for a starting spot under Emma Hayes, it would be bizarre to then sign Hampton.

This is unless one of them is planning for an exit this summer either pre or post-World Cup, especially when it’s being reported that Chelsea are biga admires of Hampton’s ability to play out from the back and be comfortable on both feet.

Emma Hayes not wasting time in the transfer market

It’s been reported that a loan is possible for the upcoming season, which would likely mean Hampton would head out temporarily away from Chelsea as she is a free agent this summer, so the Blues wouldn’t be forced to pay any sort of transfer or loan fee.

Following the signing of Catarina Macario, it looks as though Chelsea and Hayes are only looking to get stronger in all areas of the pitch and are going to be gunning for that Women’s Champions League trophy that’s always evaded their grasp.

If you would like more Women’s football coverage, then stay tuned to Euro Weekly News as I will be out in Australia covering the World Cup exclusively this summer!