Thompson was not included in the NWSL side\u2019s squad for the 2-1 win over Bay FC on Monday.<\/p>\n
Thompson now appears set to become the third player to depart the Los Angeles club for the WSL this summer, after Alanna Kennedy and Katie Zelem joined London City Lionesses \u2014 the club controlled by Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang \u2014 ahead of their maiden campaign in the English top-flight.<\/p>\n
Angel City\u2019s founding control owner Alexis Ohanian took a minority stake in Chelsea in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thompson was the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL draft (Dustin Bradford\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Thompson was the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL draft \u2014 becoming the first high schooler to be drafted first in NWSL history.<\/p>\n She has made 16 league appearances this season, scoring six goals.<\/p>\n Thompson has been capped 22 times for the U.S. after making her senior debut as a 17-year-old in October 2022 against England.<\/p>\n brb watching this Alyssa Thompson goal on repeat #USWNT<\/a> x @VW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CMLjU6qw87<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Thompson\u2019s proposed move comes at the end of a high-spending window, with the transfer record broken twice. Arsenal made Olivia Smith the first million-pound player<\/a> when they signed the Canadian from Liverpool for $1.3m (\u00a31m), with Lizbeth Ovalle then joining Orlando Pride<\/a> from Mexican side Tigres for $1.5m (\u00a31.1m).<\/p>\n Angel City are ninth in the NWSL standings, only a point behind eighth-placed Gotham FC, who occupy the final playoff spot with eight games remaining of the season.<\/p>\n Chelsea, who secured a sixth successive WSL title among a domestic treble last season, have also added Ellie Carpenter, Livia Peng, Becky Spencer and Mara Alber to their squad this summer, but are dealing with injuries to Sam Kerr, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear sustained in January 2024, Lauren James, who picked up an issue during the European Championship<\/a>, and Mayra Ramirez, who has recently undergone hamstring surgery<\/a>.<\/p>\n They open the WSL season at home to Manchester City on Friday.<\/p>\n Additional reporting: Charlotte Harpur<\/p>\n \u2018A loss for the NWSL and Angel City\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Analysis by women\u2019s soccer writer Tamerra Griffin<\/p>\n At 18 years old, Thompson was a No. 1 draft pick who de-committed from Stanford to remain in her hometown of L.A. with Angel City in 2023. Fifteen goals and 11 assists later, her growth since that year still speaks volumes beyond the stat sheet. Thompson has only become a more complete \u2014 and therefore dangerous and essentially irreplaceable \u2014 winger ever since for club and country.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only Thompson\u2019s impulse to dribble at defenders 1 v 1 at blistering pace, nor her ability to rip shots into the roof of the net at a moment\u2019s notice. It\u2019s also that she shoulders these duties while also settling into the superstar role laid out for her and her 19-year-old sister Gisele by Angel City as the club\u2019s homegrown heroines, and also for the U.S. women\u2019s national team as head coach Emma Hayes chisels down her core pool of players to take to the 2027 World Cup.<\/p>\n In some ways, the needs of the latter outweigh those of the former, especially as the returns of USWNT forwards Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, both on maternity leave, remain unclear. I can see Hayes desiring more exposure to various styles of play for Thompson as she develops, which she\u2019ll get plenty of in the WSL and the UEFA Champions League. Training alongside Catarina Macario and Naomi Girma \u2014 two players Hayes is undoubtedly building the USWNT around \u2014 doesn\u2019t hurt, either. You can argue that the level of competition across Thompson\u2019s WSL season with Chelsea won\u2019t be as contested as it\u2019s been in the NWSL, but in terms of her growth as a national team player, the benefits of this move are clear.<\/p>\n On the flip side, the losses for Angel City and the NWSL are equally obvious. Angel City coach Alex Straus is still in the early stages of implementing his vision into the squad but they\u2019ve already seen success with it \u2014 however, those plans ostensibly involved Thompson in the long term. As the team hovers around the playoff line, forwards Sveind\u00eds J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir and Riley Tiernan will need to take on more responsibility getting in behind and converting their chances. The NWSL is no doubt reeling from one half of the Thompson sisters now playing overseas \u2014 in addition to the absences of Wilson and Swanson \u2014 and will quickly need to select its next stars to prop up as the season reaches its climax.<\/p>\n \u2018Chelsea showing ambition \u2014 and pull in the market\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Analysis by women\u2019s soccer writer Megan Feringa<\/p>\n Just when you thought champions Chelsea felt comfortably full of talent, they prove once again that being interminable domestic champions requires an appetite for success to the nth degree.<\/p>\n![\"Thompson](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/alyssa-thompson-running-scaled.jpg\")
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