Why Record Signing Olivia Smith is Poised to Light Up the WSL with Arsenal
Olivia Smith became the most expensive signing in women’s football history after completing a landmark move from Liverpool to WSL rivals Arsenal.
The 20-year-old, who made her senior debut for Canada at just 15, recently put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the Champions League holders.
Arsenal’s £1 million fee eclipses the previous record set by Chelsea in January, when they shelled out £900,000 for USA defender Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave.
Gunners head coach Renee Slegers described Smith as an “exciting young player” who can make a “big contribution” to the club’s ambitions.
“It’s a privilege and an honour to sign for Arsenal,” said Smith.
“It’s my dream to compete for the biggest titles here in England and in Europe and I’m excited to get started and contribute to doing that here with Arsenal.”
With a growing reputation for breaking records — and a huge future ahead — we took a closer look at Olivia Smith’s journey to London.
Olivia Smith’s International Breakthrough
Olivia Smith was born in North York, Ontario, but grew up in Whitby. Her football journey began aged five at Whitby Iroquois SC.
Her illustrious youth career included spells with Oshawa Kicks SC, North Toronto SC, Ajax SC, and NDC Ontario, among others.
By 12, Smith was already part of Canada’s youth setup.
Just three years later, she became the youngest player ever to debut for the senior national team — aged 15 years and 94 days — coming off the bench against Brazil in 2019.
She made a second appearance at the invitational tournament in China, featuring against New Zealand.
Unsurprisingly, Smith was named Canadian Youth International Player of the Year soon after.
She went on to represent Canada at two CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championships (2022, 2023) and two FIFA U20 Women’s World Cups (2022, 2024).
Smith returned to the senior side in 2023, earning selection for the World Cup as a late addition to the pre-tournament camp.
At 18, she was the youngest member of the squad and made her World Cup debut in the final group stage match against Australia.
She scored her first senior international goal in a 6–0 thrashing of El Salvador at the 2024 Gold Cup, where she was named the tournament’s Best Young Player.
Seen as the natural successor to talismanic record goalscorer Christine Sinclair, Smith is viewed as central to Canada’s hopes of future international success.
Club Career: From Ontario to Anfield and Beyond
Smith began her club career with North Toronto Nitros in League1 Ontario, scoring 18 goals in 11 games and collecting a trio of awards, including the Golden Boot and Young Player of the Season.
Initially committed to attend Florida State University, Smith instead decided to join Penn State University where she starred for the women’s soccer team.
However, it didn’t take long for professional clubs to come knocking. After one season of college soccer, Smith quit education to sign professionally for Sporting.
The Portuguese giants secured her services on a three-year deal, reportedly beating off competition from Chelsea and PSG.
In her debut European campaign, Smith recorded 13 goals and nine assists in 18 league matches, earning another Young Player of the Year title.
Sporting’s then-head coach, Mariana Cabral, called her “the whole package.”
“Not only did she have the technical ability, but she also had the physicality,” she told BBC Sport.
“She’s explosive and strong, good on the ball and can nutmeg you to get past you like that.
“She wanted to get her professional career started and that’s why she came to us. She liked us because of the way we played at the time — very possession-based, very attacking — and she needed minutes to grow.
“But we knew Portugal was a stepping stone for her; she would go on to bigger places.”
Olivia Smith’s Introduction to the WSL
Olivia Smith’s move to Portugal proved a stepping stone indeed. Liverpool paid a reported £200,000 to bring her to Merseyside ahead of the 2024–25 season.
She wasted no time making an impact — scoring against West Ham just 76 minutes into her WSL debut. Smith went on to top Liverpool’s league scoring charts with 7 goals in 20 starts.
Across all competitions, she finished with 9 goals and 1 assist in 25 matches.
Smith netted Liverpool’s first WSL goal at Anfield and scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final — earning Players’ Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season honours from her teammates.
What Olivia Smith Brings to Arsenal
Arsenal are showing no signs of complacency following their Champions League triumph, and Olivia Smith’s arrival proves it.
Despite scoring goals (and lots of them) wherever she plays, Smith still has a higher ceiling she’s yet to reach.
The pacy forward is also comfortable anywhere across the front line, and clocked up significant time on the right wing last season.
There was a sense of inevitability about this move. Arsenal had been interested before but were beaten to her signature by Liverpool. Now, they’ve finally got their target — albeit for £800,000 more than Liverpool paid just a year ago.
Liverpool’s Managing Director Andy O’Boyle is understood to have rejected multiple bids before the £1 million figure was reached. A sell-on clause included in the deal speaks to Smith’s value on Merseyside.
Only two players aged 20 or under scored more goals in Europe’s top five leagues last season than Smith: Barcelona’s Vicky López (10) and Freiburg’s Cora Zicai (9).
Make no mistake — Arsenal have signed a gem. Olivia Smith is one of the brightest young talents in world football, and she’s only just getting started.
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