The five most expensive England Lionesses players of all time

Cameron Smith

• 20 Aug 2023 12:12 BST
• 4 min read

Keira Walsh is the most expensive England Lionesses player of all time. The midfielder claims top spot thanks to her €470,000 transfer from Manchester City to Barcelona in 2022. She is also the most expensive women’s footballer in the history of the sport.

After impressing in the Women’s Super League (WSL) for Man City, Barcelona Femeni were drawn to Walsh and pursued a deal following a serious injury to star player, and reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas.

With Walsh deployed at the base of midfield, Barcelona won both the Liga F, the female version of La Liga, and the Women’s Champions League during her first season with the club - the 2022/23 campaign.

MORE: What are the most expensive women’s football transfers of all time? The 50 highest fees in history

Bethany England is the second most expensive England Lionesses player of all time with her move from Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur in 2023 costing €290,000. That is the joint-fourth highest transfer fee in women’s football history, along with Pernille Harder’s move from Wolfsburg to Chelsea.

England became a bit-part player at Chelsea at the start of the 2022/23 season and she was unable to reclaim her spot as a regular starter due to the quality of attacking talent at Emma Hayes’ disposal at the west London club.

As a result, Tottenham picked her up in early 2023 and she netted 12 goals in just 12 WSL games to steer Spurs clear of the relegation zone.

Her form at the back-end of the season earned her a call-up to England’s squad for the 2023 World Cup. She was the most expensive signing in WSL history until Jill Roord’s move to Manchester City broke that record in the summer of 2023.

MORE: The 10 most expensive WSL transfers of all time

Lauren James is next on the list of the most expensive England Lionesses transfers of all time. James, the sister of Chelsea star Reece, joined her brother at the west London club in 2021 following an impressive spell at Manchester United.

The forward scored 14 goals in 18 league games to help guide Man Utd to promotion to the WSL in the 2018/19 season, and she also scored the club’s first-ever goal in the top flight of English women’s football.

James had spent time at Chelsea from Under-10s to Under-14s and returned to the club in 2021 in a historic move that saw brother and sister reunited at the same club.

Before joining Man Utd, James actually made her senior debut for Arsenal, becoming the second youngest female player to achieve this feat at the age of 16. She joined Chelsea on a four-year contract aged just 19.

Seasoned professional Nikita Parris is the fourth most expensive England Lionesses player of all time. The forward has played for Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton in her career, but it was her transfer from Lyon to Arsenal in 2021 that sees her enter this list in fourth place. That transfer cost the Gunners €100,000.

Parris struggled at Arsenal and netted just one WSL goal, and six in all competitions, during her only season at the club. She became Arsenal’s club-record signing but she left after just one year to join Man Utd in 2022.

Parris is also fifth on the list thanks to that move to Man Utd. While a lot of women’s football transfers are completed as Bosman transfers when contracts expire, thanks to shorter deals and smaller finances than the men’s game, Parris’ Arsenal contract was not up when she left the club for Man Utd in 2022, meaning the Red Devils were required to pay a fee to sign her.

The amount has not been disclosed, but it’s reportedly enough to see her ranked fourth and fifth on this list.

Alessia Russo would’ve topped the ranking if Man Utd had accepted Arsenal’s world-record bid in January 2023. Instead, they rejected the offer, only for Russo to move to north London on a free transfer just six months later.

The five most expensive England Lionesses transfer of all-time