USWNT hopeful Mia Fishel joins Chelsea from Tigres

The 22-year-old joins on a reported transfer fee of $250,000

Mia Fishel has completed a transfer from Tigres to Chelsea as she aims to become part of the U.S. women’s national team over the next World Cup cycle.

The 22-year-old has signed a three-year deal with the Blues, with The Equalizer reporting that Chelsea paid a transfer fee of $250,000.

After being drafted fifth overall in the 2022 NWSL Draft by the Orlando Pride, Fishel opted to begin her pro career in Mexico with Tigres, where she found the back of the net with regularity.

Fishel scored 33 goals for Tigres in 2022, claiming the 2022 Apertura Golden Boot by scoring 17 times in 17 games.

“I want to become the best soccer player here,” Fishel told Chelsea’s website. “Growing up, this was the team that made me who I want to be. The competitiveness, the wanting to win, I want to be part of this history.

“I want to win titles, I want to win championships, I want to play in the Champions League and dominate. My ambition, just like this club, is to be the best.”

Despite Fishel’s success in Mexico and with U.S. youth national teams, she has yet to make her senior USWNT debut and has only been called up once — in 2020, when she was still at UCLA.

After excluding Fishel from his January roster this year, Vlatko Andonovski said that other players were simply ahead of her in his eyes, adding that playing in Mexico wasn’t harming her chances of a call-up.

“We analyze every goal that she scores, and analyze the difficulties of the goals, and compare to the players that we called up, and try to see how they would fit or how they would replicate [those goals] on the team that we have,” said Andonovski. “For Mia in particular, the league doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t matter where she plays.”

Fishel is the second American player Chelsea has signed this summer, with Catarina Macario joining on a free transfer from Lyon in June.

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