Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe is closing on a move to Arsenal's WSL rivals Chelsea, according to reports.
McCabe is a free agent this summer after her contract with the Gunners expired. The Dubliner made over 300 appearances for the north London giants after arriving from Shelbourne in 2015, winning the Women's Champions League last year and the WSL in 2019.
In January 2023 Chelsa made an offer believed to be in the region of £250,000 for McCabe but Arsenal knocked it back.
Now it appears Chelsea will get their target on a free transfer, with BBC Sport the first to report the 30-year-old is swapping red for blue.
McCabe was involved in a flashpoint against Chelsea in early April.
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor was left unimpressed after McCabe pulled the ponytail of forward Alyssa Thompson towards the end of their Champions League quarter-final second leg clash, the Gunners prevailing 3-2 on aggregate.
McCabe later claimed on Instagram that she was "genuinely" reaching for Thompson's shirt, offering her opponent "full respect", but Bompastor felt the episode deserved a review by the match officials.
However there is clearly much admiration for her talents, with McCabe now joining a winning machine: Chelsea have claimed six of the last seven WSL titles, being dethroned this year by Manchester City.
