Chelsea women have made a real statement of intent signing by landing midfielder Melanie Leupolz.
The 25-year-old has been a mainstay at Bayern since switching from Freiburg in 2014, winning the Frauen-Bundesliga in her first two seasons there, and she has also been a regular for Germany since 2013, competing at four major tournaments, including winning the 2013 Women’s Euros and Olympic gold in 2016.
Leupolz is not the first World Cup stalwart recruited by Chelsea’s manager, Emma Hayes, as the Blues boss Last summer signed Norway forward Guro Reiten from LSK Kvinner before the tournament, and Australia’s Sam Kerr came in January, as she looks to build a side that is very capable of challenging for big titles.
Hayes told the CHELSEA WEBSITE: “Melanie has the right qualities that we look for in players at Chelsea. She’s got international experience, been the captain of Bayern Munich and her best years are yet to come.
“It’s a real statement of intent that she chose Chelsea and it shows just how far we’ve come as a football club. Melanie is versatile, she’s got wonderful qualities in the midfield areas and she will provide much-needed depth.”
Leupolz has been brought in to add a bit more quality to that Chelsea midfield and Hayes will be hoping that she adapts to the English game sooner rather than later, but the German has announced that she is looking forward to her new career at Chelsea, Leupolz said: “I believe in what Chelsea are doing as a club and I am excited to be a part of that. They want to win titles, and so do I. I also like the style of football they play.
“I have seen a lot of their matches and I think it’s the right club for me.”