Alyssa Thompson, Linda Caicedo, Jayde Riviere: Who will be the next £1m women’s player?

After two players made history by moving for more than £1million in this summer’s women’s football transfer window, the obvious question is: who’s next?

Olivia Smith’s £1million ($1.3m) move from Liverpool to WSL rivals Arsenal first broke the record in July before NWSL club Orlando Pride signed Lizbeth Ovalle from Tigres of Mexico for $1.5m this month. Following Naomi Girma’s $1.1m move from San Diego Wave to English side Chelsea in January, the women’s transfer record has now been broken three times in 2025.

Fans should not necessarily expect to see teams splashing millions left, right and centre — not many of them can afford to, and some of those who can might not need to, as explained in detail here with the help of Dr Christina Philippou, associate professor in sport finance at the University of Portsmouth.

With those caveats, though, Dr Philippou still predicts that million-pound signings will become increasingly common in the women’s game.

The Athletic has picked out five players whose talent, attributes, and place in the market mean they could be next to join the seven-figure club.

Alyssa Thompson, 20, forward, Angel City

Thompson’s breakthrough from high-school student to NWSL first-overall draft pick and U.S. women’s national team debutant was sudden and spectacular.

In January 2023, Thompson was fast-tracked into professional football when she chose to enter the NWSL draft direct from high school rather than play at Stanford University as planned. Angel City selected her first overall, making her the youngest draftee in league history. She scored four goals across 13 starts that first season, earning her place on the USWNT roster for the 2023 World Cup.

After that, though, things slowed down. Following the World Cup, where she played little part for the defending champions, she was left out of the squad for the 2024 Olympics and made to work to regain her place under new coach Emma Hayes.

Now, two and a half years on from that historic draft pick, Thompson has regained her place in the USWNT, become a starter for Angel City, and is steadily increasing her on-field output: after registering five goals and seven assists in the NWSL last term she looks set to surpass those figures in this one, standing on five goals and two assists halfway through the campaign.

Why could she be the next £1m player?

Thompson’s pace, dribbling and finishing are exceptional, while national-team manager Hayes has alluded to her improving tactical maturity and understanding. The 20-year-old forward is now adding passing vision and link-up play to her weapons and is rounding out as a player. She has been crucial to Angel City’s attacking play this season, shouldering a heavy creative burden, as the graphic below shows, and the question is now whether she is best continuing her development elsewhere: after finishing fifth in Thompson’s 2023 debut season, Angel City slipped to 12th in the 14-team NWSL last year and currently sit 10th.

European football would be a great environment for Thompson to refine her talent, and any side signing her would be getting a forward with exceptional technical capabilities and massive potential. This week, UK newspaper The Guardian reported that Chelsea were interested. However, given she is under contract in Los Angeles until 2028, a move for Thompson would be expensive — whereas other top young players in the NWSL, such as Trinity Rodman, are reaching the end of their deals.

Linda Caicedo, 20, forward, Real Madrid

In her first senior season, Caicedo was the Colombian league’s top scorer and won the league title with America de Cali. She was 14 years old.

Caicedo stood out as one of the best young women’s footballers in the world from a remarkably young age. By the time she turned 18, her dribbling and shooting technique caught the attention of clubs in Europe and North America, including Barcelona. The winger’s brilliance is simply demonstrated by the fact that in the year from August 2022, she competed in three World Cups for Colombia: at under-17s, under-20s and senior level.

Her story, already remarkable, becomes even more so upon learning that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 15. “There are moments in my life when I stop to think: ‘I was so close to never doing what I love again’,” Caicedo told The Athletic in 2023.

After recovering and returning to action with her club at the time, Deportivo Cali, her rise continued. Two days on from turning 18 in February 2023, she signed for Real Madrid.

Why could she be the next £1m player?

Caicedo’s goal contributions have risen season-on-season at Madrid, and she was named in global footballers’ union FIFPro’s Women’s World XI in 2024. Her technical qualities and attacking mentality, while still only aged 20, are impressive and indicate a high ceiling. She has that rare mix of proven capability on the biggest stages and enough youth that her game can still get better.

The 2024-25 season was an impressive one for Madrid, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and finishing second in Liga F, Spain’s top division, as well as beating Barcelona in El Clasico for the first time. However, there is little suggestion they are close to breaking Barca’s stranglehold on the Spanish league.

Caicedo is good enough to be winning domestic and continental titles, and it is not hard to imagine a side who are doing those things already making a move for her.

Jayde Riviere, 24, defender, Manchester United

Riviere signed for United in 2023 and has since established herself as one of the most well-rounded full-backs in the Women’s Super League. The Canada international is excellent in duels, her pace and crossing ability allow her to make important contributions to attack (as her chance-creation chart below shows) and she has the pace to recover defensively.

Why could she be the next £1m player?

Right-back is an area where two of the few women’s teams with £1million to spend don’t have an urgent need but could do with a young option who can be built up. Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze turns 34 in October and cannot play forever (as much as she does her best to convince us all otherwise) and Riviere fits a similar attacking mould, so could be a signing to compete with Ellie Carpenter. Arsenal are also lighter on options behind their first-choice right-back Emily Fox following Laura Wienroither’s permanent departure to Manchester City this month.

Riviere has been frustrated by injuries at times, having suffered calf, ankle and hip issues at United — she was the most fouled defender in the WSL last season, which does not help. She is a key player in United’s defence and is under contract until 2028, with the option of a further year; it would take a lot of money for them to consider a move, but £1million would go a long way in strengthening other areas of the team.

Signe Gaupset, 20, midfielder, Brann

Gaupset is probably still one transfer removed from a million-pound move. Her current club, Norway’s Brann, may not have the bargaining power to command that sort of fee, but it feels as though she is on the verge of moving to a team who could.

She has never played for a club outside of her home country but caught the eye in the 2023-24 Champions League, winning player of the match in three group games — including after scoring a late equaliser against eight-time champions OL Lyonnes. Gaupset’s performances in midfield were then a standout in Norway’s Euro 2025 campaign, and will have put her on the radar as a top prospect. She was a key creator in a side who otherwise looked disjointed and uninspired at this summer’s tournament, and registered four goal contributions in a single game against Iceland before Norway were knocked out by Italy in the quarter-finals.

Why could she be the next £1m player?

At 20, Gaupset has already proven herself on the continental stage, but is still young enough to be malleable. Her performances at the Euros suggest a midfielder who can create and score, but also defend from the front, a rare sign of maturity in a young player and one who elite clubs will be keen to take on and nurture. She is already matching the physical and technical level of other top players in attack, and has years to round out the defensive aspects of her game.

OL Lyonnes could be tempted after seeing Gaupset’s skills first-hand. Alternatively, she could add valuable depth or competition at Arsenal, where she could learn from Mariona Caldentey and Lia Walti. The European champions will want to add depth for the future in midfield, and could mould Gaupset into a role of their choice.

Salma Paralluelo, 21, forward, Barcelona

Whenever Spain brought Paralluelo on at this summer’s Euros, it felt frankly unfair that they had enough depth to leave such a talent on the bench. Paralluelo was named best young player at the 2023 World Cup as the Spanish took the trophy, and the following season scored 20 goals in 19 league games for Barcelona — a particularly impressive number considering she predominantly played as a winger, not a striker.

Paralluelo’s athleticism stands out. She was a gifted sprinter, competing on the European stage at youth level, before choosing to focus solely on football when she joined Barcelona from Villarreal in 2022.

Also noticeable is her directness; her four shots in the European Championship final last month were matched only by team-mate Aitana Bonmati, who played 120 minutes to Paralluelo’s 31. As we can see from the map of her take-ons, the winger is constantly looking to cut inside, drag defenders out of position and open up shots.

Why could she be the next £1m player?

Paralluelo is the only Barcelona player on this list, not because she is their only player talented enough to cost £1million, but because her substitute role there belies her quality.

In July, Paralluelo told The Athletic how she chose to take a pre-emptive step back from playing after the 2024 Olympics, feeling she was at a “critical point” of discomfort and pain with an ongoing knee problem. Since returning in December, Paralluelo has had to share her place, only starting nine of her 17 games in Liga F last season and just one of Spain’s six at the Euros.

With financial issues leaving Barcelona open to offers for their hugely successful women’s team’s players, a move for Paralluelo — someone easily good enough for a starting berth elsewhere — could make sense. Paralluelo is the sort of Champions League-experienced player the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal or OL Lyonnes could use to drive forward their European-level progress. To consistently match Barcelona, it helps if you sign Barcelona-level players — and if they come straight from the source, even better.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Angel City, NWSL, Women's Soccer

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