Chelsea FC Women have announced the signing of Canadian international, Jessie Fleming on a three-year deal.
The 22-year-old Canadian joins from UCLA Bruins (University of California’s football programme) after signing her first professional contract which commits her to Chelsea Football Club until the summer of 2023.
The box-to-box midfielder played at UCLA Bruins for four years, made 75 appearances and scored 25 goals while majoring in Materials Engineering and minoring in Environmental Science.
Fleming represented her national team at Under-17s and Under-20s level before emerging as the second-youngest player to ever play for Canada when she made her senior debut at 15 years.
Since making her debut, Fleming has established herself as the playmaker in the heart of the Canadian midfield earning herself 77 caps and scoring 10 goals so far.
The talented youngster played a major role when the Canadian senior squad won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and she played at the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019.
After signing for Chelsea Women, Fleming said: “I knew I really wanted to play in the WSL, I think the league is doing really well right now and there is a ton of fantastic players in the league so that really excited me.
“For Chelsea it was the players here and I wanted to be in a challenging environment. Having conversations with Emma [Hayes] and learning a bit more about the team, I was just really excited about the environment and what it has to offer.”
While talking about the Canadian, Chelsea FC Women manager, Emma Hayes said: “Jessie is one of the top young players in the world, so for us to be able to sign her is a testament to the work that has been done here for a number of years. She chose Chelsea, this was her priority, her first choice and we were over the moon to get her.”
