Chelsea are signing the USA defender for a world-record $1.1m but the big gap to the rest of the pyramid is unhealthy

When Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign the Colombia striker Mayra Ramírez for €450,000 (£380,000) last January, the thought of that fee more than doubling in the space of a year might have sounded like a fanciful rate of inflation to some. But to those involved in the fast-evolving world of women’s football transfer fees, this week’s smashing of the $1m (£810,000) barrier has been on the cards for a while.

With Chelsea understood to have agreed personal terms with the highly acclaimed United States defender Naomi Girma for her world-record-breaking $1.1m transfer from San Diego Wave, the prospect of the first £1m move is surely now a mere inevitability, and the rise in prices certainly will not stop there. Indeed, it could already have been comfortably smashed for a winger or a No 9. Girma is arguably the best defender in the world – Emma Hayes labelled her the best defender she had “ever seen” – but she is, nonetheless, a defender. If a centre-back can attract a seven-figure transfer fee, what would the WSL’s top goalscorer Khadija Shaw be worth, or the Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí?