Chelsea have signed Katerina Svitkova on a free transfer from West Ham on a three-year contract.
Svitkova began her playing career at Czech Republic’s Slavia Prague in 2013 where she netted 188 goals in 177 appearances and helped the team to seven titles in total, prior to her switch to West Ham in July 2020.
During her time in East London, Svitkova contributed 10 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions but was released at the end of last season in May.
Speaking about her decision to make the switch across to West London to play for Chelsea, Svitkova said: “I am living my dream! I have wanted to play for this club my whole life having supported the team since childhood and I really appreciate this exciting opportunity.”
The 26 year-old also praised Chelsea’s quality on and off the pitch as she added: “Chelsea is a huge club with amazing history for both the men’s and women’s teams. They have the best players and coaches and I can’t wait to meet everyone.
“Chelsea also has the best fans and I can’t wait to meet them at Kingsmeadow. I want to win everything, and I know that with Chelsea it is possible!”
Manager, Emma Hayes added that Svitkova has been on the club’s radar for a while as she explained: “We’ve been watching her for some time and knew she’d offer the team a lot of quality in midfield and also wing-back too.
“She’s really versatile and extremely driven and has a real love for Chelsea.”
Svitkova will wear the number 13 shirt this season and Hayes believes that the Czech Republic international “… will give everything to the shirt when she arrives at the club later this summer.”
Chelsea have confirmed that Svitkova will commence pre-season training in the coming weeks ahead of their pre-season tour in USA next month, where they will face Lyon, Portland Thorns and C.F. Monterrey in the Women’s International Champions Cup.
Leave a Reply