Arsenal set to sign USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger from Gotham FC | OneFootball

Arsenal are poised to sign the USA defender Jenna Nighswonger before the Women’s Super League transfer window closes on Thursday.

The 24-year-old left-back is poised to move from the NWSL club NJ/NY Gotham FC for a fee understood to be $100,000 (£80,360). She has one season left on her contract.

Gotham finished third in the ­regular NWSL table last season and the California-born Nighswonger has been there since 2023, helping them to win the NWSL title that year. She has made 18 international ­appearances for the Olympic ­champions and was part of the squad that won gold in Paris last August under the former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes.

Nighswonger has scored twice for the USA since her international debut in December 2023. She ­previously represented her country at under‑16, under-17, under-18, under-20 and under-23 levels. Her move to ­Arsenal is understood to be ­all-but finalised.

It is understood Arsenal regard Nighswonger as not only an excellent international-calibre player but as being of the right age profile. She is more than experienced enough to make an impact and has the ­potential to improve.

Nighswonger’s move will bring a ­second high-profile USA defender to the English top flight this week, days after Naomi Girma moved to ­Chelsea from San Diego Wave for a world-record $1.1m.

The deal for Nighswonger could be one of the biggest of the final day of the WSL’s window, which closes at 11pm GMT.

Header image: [Photograph: David Zalubowski/AP]