Chelsea’s record move for Ramirez shows ambition, adds depth،
For many teams in the Women's Super League, losing a player to such an influential injury as striker Sam Kerr would be a major blow. But this is not the case for Chelsea. Emma Hayes' doubles winners have plenty of options from the start and have now increased them with the world record €450,000 signing of Levante star Mayra Ramírez.
What the 24-year-old Colombia international offers is one of the things Hayes values so much at Chelsea: adaptability. Possessing the ability to play anywhere along the forward line, Ramírez will likely be used as a No.9 striker to help fill the void left by Kerr's ACL injury, but she can also move into the midfield role. pitch n°10, or play on the pitch. wide.
Ramírez is a proven goalscorer and found the back of the net 14 times in 27 league appearances for Levante last season. This season she has struggled with injury, but has still scored six goals in seven matches for the Liga F second-placed team.
Her true strength, which has been demonstrated for both Levante and Colombia (notably during the 2023 Women's World Cup), lies in her selfless link-up play. Indeed, while all eyes were on teenage sensation Linda Caicedo during Colombia's run to the quarterfinals, Ramírez's ability to line up with veteran Catalina Usme proved particularly important.
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At club level, this ability to come in and partner with Natasa Andonova and Alba Redondo has helped Levante a lot. Yes, Ramírez is strong on the ball – particularly good at protecting it and maintaining possession – but she is also light on her feet and capable of a deft touch. Indeed, many of her attacking qualities overlap with those of her new teammates at Chelsea: like the strength we've seen from Mia Fishel when she goes forward, Lauren James' quick feet or Fran Kirby's ability to protect the ball.
Ramírez will likely trade time with American star Fishel as the No. 9 forward before another member of the USWNT squad, Catarina Macario, fully returns from the ACL injury that kept her out the gap since the last day of the 2021-22 season. But what about James or Kirby?
Chelsea are not only competing for the WSL title this season, but they are also in the knockout stages of the Women's Champions League and will also play matches in the Conti Cup and FA Cup in February. To go far in all of these competitions, a number of attacking options are needed, and Hayes will surely need to call on all of them.
In the 3-1 win over Manchester United in the WSL last weekend, Fishel played the first half as a central striker, but James stole the show with a hat-trick and was brought on after the break. Hayes praised the England international's all-round performance, but James is not the natural answer to Chelsea's striking conundrum.
Indeed, after the Blues beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday night in the Women's Champions League, Hayes said: “We all know Lauren James is a natural No.10.”
So, with James pulling the midfield strings and left free to float around the pitch as he pleases, Kirby – who has “more natural tendencies centrally”, according to Hayes – is another option for the No.9 role . On the outside, Hayes can choose from Kirby, Guro Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. Or bring Aggie Beever-Jones off the bench and push Sjoeke Nüsken into a more advanced role. The possibilities are endless, although it does beg the question of where exactly will Macario play when he returns? Chelsea are always better when they can overload the opposition. The fluidity of the team allows them to try different ways of unblocking defenses, but what has proven particularly effective, with players like Ashley Lawrence and Niamh Charles pushing forward from the full-back positions, is to have a more natural center forward – someone who can occupy the central defenders or run towards the defense and provide a passing option. This is one of the areas where we will likely see Ramírez thrive. She's a player with fantastic potential and, despite a record transfer fee, we may look back and reflect on what a bargain she was back then. Hayes leaves for the USWNT this summer, but has spent his time at Chelsea innovating, developing and evolving his team, strengthening it at every opportunity. Even with her impending departure, she's still trying to get the team to the best possible place for whoever takes over. Financial backing from Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has certainly helped and while he has been happy to spend £1bn on men's players over the last three windows, we know that won't trickle down from the same way on the women's team. Yet with a high-profile move for Ramírez, Boehly clearly believes investing in the women's team is worth it and that's a scary thought for their WSL rivals.
