• Signing in time for Champions League knockout stage
• Walsh deal follows world record fee for Naomi Girma

Chelsea are expected to confirm the signing of the England midfielder Keira Walsh from the European champions Barcelona on Friday, for a fee understood to be in the region of €550,000 (£440,000).

In one of the highest-profile deadline-day transfers in Women’s Super League history, Walsh completed a medical at Chelsea on Thursday and parties are very confident that the deal was completed in time for the 23:00 GMT deadline, as fans await official confirmation.

In the space of a dramatic 24 hours, the two clubs agreed on the fee overnight on Wednesday night before Walsh flew to London on Thursday, and the move is understood to have progressed without any late hitches.

• ‘To a country that doesn’t respect women? I don’t see it’
• RFEF in dicussions with Saudi Arabia over competition

Female players in Spain have hit out at plans to take the women’s Supercopa to Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been in negotiations with the Saudis to extend their agreement to play the men’s Supercopa semi-finals and final away from Spain until at least 2034 and include the women’s competition too.

However, Barcelona players have now criticised the plans. “Taking the Supercopa outside of Spain and to a country that doesn’t respect women? I don’t see it,” the midfielder Patri Guijarro said after their semi-final win over Atlético Madrid in this year’s edition.

• Midfielder set to have medical in London on Thursday
• Chloe Kelly hits out at lack of future at Manchester City

Barcelona have accepted a bid from Chelsea for Keira Walsh and the England midfielder is expected to undergo a medical in London on Thursday. The transfer fee is understood to be in the region of €550,000 (£460,000), which would make the deal the fourth most expensive in the history of women’s football.

The two clubs reached an agreement overnight, inside the final 24 hours of the window, which closes at 11pm on Thursday and Barcelona gave Walsh permission to travel to London.

The 27-year-old would be eligible to be registered for Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the knockout stages and therefore could theoretically be set for a reunion against her former side if they were to meet in the competition this season. Walsh has helped Barcelona win back-to-back Champions League titles in the past two seasons.

The midfielder’s contract is due to expire in the summer. Arsenal targeted Walsh last summer and she was ­reportedly the subject of a bid from the club, who have been heavily linked with her for several months.

Chelsea’s move for Walsh comes just days after they broke the world record with a fee of $1.1m (£890,000) to sign the United States defender Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave.

Walsh’s latest transfer fee would mean that two of the top five most expensive transfers in women’s football would involve the former Manchester City midfielder as she moved to Barcelona from City for around £400,000 in 2022.