Arsenal are set to pay a “record” 2M Swedish Krona (£144,000) for Hammarby midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross, according to Expressen.
The Swedish newspaper claims that, barring any last-minute hitches, the 21-year-old will seal her switch to the Emirates before Thursday night’s deadline.
Cooney-Cross was part of Australia’s impressive run to the World Cup semi-finals last month when they were eventually beaten by England.
The midfielder’s contract was set to expire in January but the Gunners have clearly pushed the boat out to secure her signature if Expressen‘s claim about the price tag is accurate.
Cooney-Cross will be Arsenal’s club-record signing
It looks like it will be a record purchase for Jonas Eidevall’s team. The current record fee stands at £125,000, which they paid Juventus for Lina Hurtig last year.
The Gunners has so far brought in four other players during the summer transfer window. Cloe Lacasse was signed from Benfica and Amanda Ilestedt joined from Paris Saint-Germain before the start of July.
They then secured the services of Alessia Russo on a free transfer, following her departure from Manchester United, which was a massive coup. World Cup winner Laia Codina also signed from Barcelona last month. Adding Cooney-Cross into the mix will give them a big chance of challenging for the WSL title this season, especially with Beth Mead closing in on a return from an ACL injury.
A number of other WSL clubs were pursuing Cooney-Cross
It was reported a few weeks ago that Chelsea were in negotiations with Hammarby about signing the Australian international. The likes of Manchester United, Everton, Juventus and Lyon were credited with an interest in the midfielder as well.
From the looks of things, though, it appears Cooney-Cross will be wearing Arsenal colours when the new campaign kicks off at the start of October.
