Chelsea raided France for Ashley Lawrence and Catarina Macario from Paris St Germain and Lyon respectively.
Meanwhile, forward Mia Fishel signed from Tigres for in excess of £150k to boost a squad full of stars with Emma Hayes’ side eager to take the final step in the Champions League.
Liverpool manager Matt Beard admitted: “You just look at Chelsea’s transfer window and it’s ridiculous. They will have players in there who won’t even be named in their 25-player squad.
“We’re still a way from the top teams in regards to expenditure. You just need to look at the Alessia Russo deal and Arsenal looking to spend another record fee on Mary Earps etc. There is still a big gap.”
It would be inaccurate to state only the big four were spending in the WSL, though after Tottenham showed their ambition – and fear of relegation – when they parted with £250k to sign Bethany England from Chelsea in January.
England immediately flourished, which meant Spurs’ gamble to sign a player for a British record fee paid off after they avoided relegation.
The £250k transfer remains the highest between WSL clubs but the other mid-table teams have enjoyed productive summers with Leicester making Janina Leitzig’s move from Bayern Munich permanent.
Liverpool broke their club record to bring in forward Sophie Roman Haug, while Brighton convinced two-time Champions League winner Pauline Bremer to swap Wolfsburg for the south coast and Everton made several signings after losing Gabby George to Manchester United in a £150k deadline-day deal.
Managerial changes at Tottenham and West Ham saw both make some shrewd additions and newly-promoted Bristol City opted for quantity over quality.
Perhaps the winners of the transfer window were Aston Villa, who purchased Ebony Salmon, Adriana Leon and Netherlands stopper Daphne Van Domselaar alongside keeping Rachel Daly.
However, Villa boss Carla Ward remains perplexed by the numbers being discussed this summer, even if it shows little sign of slowing.
“It’s wild. If you think about a few years ago when players were paying to play and now one transfer of Bethany England going for £250k has inflated everyone’s prices,” Ward explained.
“We need to continue to grow off the pitch and transfer fees have to be in line with that.
“Some of the transfer fees branded around this summer were quite ridiculous. We got offered a crazy amount for one of our players.
