USWNT's Naomi Girma, Crystal Dunn, Jenna Nighswonger move to Europe: What it means for NWSL, women's soccer

Chelsea paid a transfer fee of $1.1 million for Girma's services, a record fee in the women's game

The winter transfer window has been unexpectedly busy in the women's game, especially as a flurry of U.S. women's national team players swap the NWSL for teams in Europe. Naomi Girma's $1.1 million transfer from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea is the headlining act of the window, with the Blues spending a record fee in the women's game for the center back's services. Girma is not the only USWNT player swapping the NWSL for Europe, though – Jenna Nighswonger joined Arsenal shortly before the WSL transfer window closed on Thursday, while The Guardian reports that Crystal Dunn is on her way to Paris Saint-Germain. Arsenal reportedly paid NJ/NY Gotham FC $100,000 to sign Nighswonger, per The Athletic, while Dunn will undergo a medical in Paris after her deal with Gotham was terminated on Tuesday. Gotham reportedly looked into a trade within the league for Dunn, per The Athletic, but the asking price meant a deal never came together.

Grouped with Kerolin's move from the North Carolina Courage to Manchester City on a free transfer, it's hard not to notice the influx of ex-NWSL talent now playing for European clubs. That said, there's an argument to be made that it is not time for the NWSL to panic over these moves, in large part because the league is still the home of top-tier domestic and international talent. The transfers, though, are undoubtedly a sign that women's soccer is growing on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean – and in the right direction.