- Louna Ribadeira has penned a four-year deal at Chelsea
- French striker will return to Paris FC on loan for 2024/25
- Ribadeira calls Blues 'one of the best teams in the world'
Chelsea have signed incredibly sought after French striker Louna Ribadeira, who is set to return to Paris FC on loan for the upcoming season.
The 20-year-old has penned a four-year deal with the west London club but will spend the 2024/25 campaign playing for Paris FC, where she made 24 appearances and scored eight goals during the previous season to help the club to third place behind Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon.
Ribadeira was recognised for her impressive performances and named the Division 1 Feminine Young Player of the Year. She has already featured in 60 senior club games and made her debut for the France national team in the 2-1 win against England in May.
Before making the leap to the senior squad, the centre-forward enjoyed much success at youth level. She reached the final of the Under-17 Euros before making the semi-finals in the Under-19s competition in 2023, where she was top goalscorer and named player of the tournament.
Speaking about her arrival, Ribadeira described Chelsea as "one of the best teams in the world". She explained: "I'll continue my development at Paris for now and join Chelsea with more experience and more development as myself as a player."
Ribadeira has impressed with her finishing inside the area, while her attacking qualities also shine through when linking the play in the final third.
General manager Paul Green added: "Louna has shown great promise easily in her career and we believe her instinctive finishing will prove to be a real asset to the club in the future. We look forward to welcoming her to the Chelsea family after she has continued her development back at Paris FC next season, where she has already benefited from regular game time."
Ribadeira isn't the first youth player Chelsea have either signed or kept on this summer and plan to put out on loan. Greta Humphries, Jorja Fox, Ashanti Akpan and Aimee Claypole will all see out the upcoming campaign at other clubs, reinforcing Chelsea's priority of nurturing and developing their future squad members.
