Chelsea Women have secured the signing of French international Melvine Malard coming from Manchester United in one of their most significant transfers of the summer.
The 26-year-old agreed a four-year deal with the Blues, with the transfer fee reaching the range of £750,000 to £850,000, representing the highest transfer fee paid to Manchester United Women in history.
The deal reunites Malard with her former head coach and current head coach Sonia Bompastor, who worked with her at Olympique Lyonnais.
In fact, it was Bompastor who signed Malard at Lyon when she was only 14. And now, the story will continue for both the head coach and the player but in the WSL this time.
Malard will therefore be trying to perform at her best at Chelsea under the management of a head coach that she knows very well.
This will represent a huge advantage for Malard in terms of integration and in quickly knowing what Bompastor wants from her tactically.
Why Melvine Malard Is The Perfect Fit For Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea
Bompastor knew Malard since she was only 14 and was the one to convince her to leave Saint-Denis FC and join Olympique Lyonnais’s academy.
The relationship between the two continued on a senior-team level too as Bompastor and Malard won together both the Division 1 Feminine title and the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2022.
This successful experience between the two makes Malard an excellent fit for the attacking roles within Bompastor’s Chelsea.
In fact, Malard can perform well on both wings and as a striker, ensuring attacking depth, tactical flexibility, pace, and dynamism inside the opponents’ final third.
These qualities will surely be useful to Chelsea Women’s attack especially following the departure of more than one experienced attacking player.
Malard scored six goals in the WSL and four in the UWCL. It is true that these numbers do not represent the full potential of Malard, yet, they confirm that she is progressing in the WSL season after season.
And by moving to Chelsea, Malard is expected to increase her goal contribution numbers significantly next season if everything goes as planned.
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What Melvine Malard's Transfer Means For Chelsea And Manchester United
The deal is going to be very useful to Chelsea mainly because the French international is a proven and experienced attacking player who is capable of making the difference both in the WSL and in the UWCL.
She has the experience needed to deal well with the complex situations the team might get into, and let’s not forget that she has established herself as one of the most important players for the French national team too, with 41 appearances and 14 international goals so far.
For Manchester United, this transfer will represent an excellent opportunity for the club to reinforce the team with quality signings, as the historic transfer fee will help the Red Devils in negotiating with more ease with their targeted players’ teams.
It is also important to note that United did not want to sell Malard initially even though she was about to start her final year of contract.
But, the player’s desire to join Chelsea made the Red Devils negotiate with the Blues and reach an agreement, as that was the wiser decision to opt for given the player’s situation.
In other words, selling Malard and benefiting from a valuable profit was much better than risking to keep the player next season and then watch her sign for another team for free next summer.
The record fee gained from this transfer should however be reinvested intelligently to help Marc Skinner strengthen his team in a way that makes the team capable of competing for the top spots.
