Worth every penny! USWNT star Alyssa Thompson justifying status as Chelsea's record signing with exciting start to life in the WSL

When it happened, it was fair to question aspects of this move for both Chelsea and Thompson. Would the 20-year-old get the game time she needed in order to keep developing at the impressive rate she did at Angel City? Or would a smaller-sized step have been better for her, to maintain that trajectory?

On the other side, when Chelsea were handily beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals last season, one of the main takeaways was that the Blues needed more world-class match-winners in order to close the gap to the Catalans, who have ended their European dream in four of the last five seasons. Given her age and limited experience, Thompson didn't feel like she was that just yet. But would she be expected to be from the get-go? Or could she reach that point quickly?

It wasn't just that Thompson had a new environment, on and off the pitch, to adapt to, either. She was also joining a Chelsea side that is extremely adaptable when it comes to formation and, as such, requires its players to be able to change position frequently.

At Angel City, Thompson almost always played as a left winger. There were a couple of times where she lined up on the right, even fewer occasions where she might find herself in central areas, and occasions when she would be asked to be a little bit deeper or more advanced than usual. But, generally speaking, the young forward consistently played the same position in her two and a half years in Los Angeles and that no doubt helped her settle into the NWSL nicely, to become a very productive outlet. By contrast, in her three months at Chelsea to date, Thompson has already played as a winger on the right and the left and, most differently, as a wing-back.

Speaking about her United States, and now Chelsea, team-mate on the We Are Chelsea podcast, Girma described Thompson as someone who is "used to being uncomfortable in those environments," after her experiences coming into the NWSL and the international game. Still, this was a move that was going to present more challenges than ever before for her, and all at once.

It's to Thompson's immense credit, then, that she is passing these tests with flying colours and showing she can be exactly what Chelsea need. As the Blues' season prepares to hit its halfway stage, with Wednesday's Champions League clash with Wolfsburg and Sunday's League Cup quarter-final against Liverpool all that is left before the winter break, the 20-year-old has nailed down a starting spot in head coach Sonia Bompastor's team, featuring in the XI for each of the last nine matches and repaying that faith with four goals and two assists.

Last month, her sublime strike against Arsenal was named WSL Goal of the Month, while her goal-and-assist display against Brighton on Sunday was right up there with that performance against the Gunners as a contender for her best to date in Chelsea blue, helping her side sign off in the WSL in 2025 with a vital win.

It's clear that having such a settled run in the Chelsea team is helping Thompson find that consistency and she deserves further praise for managing to nail one down, because the Blues have one of the best and most competitive squads in Europe. She's not wasting those opportunities, either, learning as much as possible from every outing in order to keep taking steps forward.

Asked about the biggest differences between the WSL and the NWSL she noticed when moving to England, Girma explained on the We Are Chelsea podcast: "Having different styles of games in the league is different. For different teams, you have to prepare different game plans and sometimes a team, especially against a team like Chelsea, will sit in or high press. I think the tactics change a lot. I think that has been different and the preparation for each game."

That's something Thompson herself has noted in these last few months, too. "I feel like every game is different," she said last month. "All of these teams are coming from different leagues so even the fact that we play different styles has helped me a lot in terms of viewing the game tactically. I can see what I need to work on against different teams’ blocks and it helps me show more versatility in my game. Having that every week in the Champions League is really cool."

Having a manager who really believes in her talent must help, too. As well as trusting her as a regular starter, Bompastor has repeatedly praised Thompson since her arrival in London and said she believes there is even more to come from her, the kind of comments which must make any young player, never mind one 5,000 miles from home in a totally new environment, feel extremely confident.

"She brings a lot of speed up front," Bompastor said after Thompson's goal-and-assist display against Paris FC in October, in some of her most glowing comments about the 20-year-old to date. "She’s really comfortable on the ball and she takes risks. She attacks the defender, one-on-one, and she's able to come inside or outside, so it’s really difficult to defend against her.

"She’s able to provide a lot of crosses when she goes outside but also, she's able to finish when the ball is on the opposite side. She has the engine and she also has the desire to help the team in and out of possession. When we are attacking, we are high up on the pitch, and if she has to run to recover some space, to help the team defend, she's able to do that. She’s still a young player but she has a lot of talent.

"We haven’t seen the best of her yet but hopefully we'll see that soon. She’s come from abroad, she speaks the language, which helps, but it's a new environment, a new club, and she’s still learning to connect with her team-mates on the pitch."

As 2025 nears its end, it feels like we have got much closer to the best of Thompson in the six games since that high praise from Bompastor. The upcoming winter break is likely to do her the world of good, too, given she arrived in the WSL off the back of five months of action in the NWSL, which runs from March to November. A little bit of time off should help her reset before a big end to the season.

In the New Year, Chelsea have a lot on their plate. The Blues will be aiming to become the first team in WSL history to overturn a six-point deficit at the halfway point to win the title, as they bid to take down league leaders Manchester City to win a seventh successive crown. There are also title defences in the League Cup and FA Cup to come, and the challenge of the Champions League. Chelsea have still never triumphed in Europe and will be more determined than ever to change that.

To be successful on multiple fronts, the Blues need several things and one of the big ones is match-winners, the kind of which can make the difference at the elite level. In her first half-season at the club, Thompson has taken real strides and shown that she can be exactly that, making all the hype and excitement surrounding her arrival absolutely worthwhile.