Chelsea have confirmed the signing of 23-year-old United States forward Catarina Macario from Lyon.

The Blues have lost Pernille Harder to Bayern Munich this summer but have wasted little time in swooping for Macario, who will complete her move to Kingsmeadow on July 1.

"I can’t wait to get started here!" Macario told club media. "I’m really happy to sign for Chelsea and I hope to represent the jersey well over the next few years.

"I can play either as a No.10 or a more traditional number nine and I’m looking forward to linking up with so many good forward players such as Sam [Kerr], Lauren James and Guro [Reiten]. It will be good to play with Kadeisha [Buchanan] again also.

"I’ve been fortunate to have some great experiences in Europe already with Lyon, playing with many top players and of course winning the Champions League also. I hope to carry on those experiences here and bring home the trophy for Chelsea as well!"

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Manager Emma Hayes added: "Cat is one of the most intelligent, creative attacking players in the world who I think will blossom in this Chelsea team. She brings a great deal of flair, European experience, and an unbelievable winning mentality. I think our fans will really love her."

That sentiment was echoed by general manager Paul Green, continuing: "We’re really excited that Cat has signed for the club. She’s one of the best players in the world and will add a lot of power, pace and dynamism to our frontline. We feel that she will be a big success at Chelsea."

Macario arrives at Chelsea on the back of a nasty ACL injury suffered in June 2022 which kept her out of action for the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign and also cost her a spot in the USWNT squad for this summer's World Cup.

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