During a summer transfer window largely dominated by London City Lionesses’ marquee signings, Manaka Matsukubo’s move to Chelsea has flown under the radar.
Matsukubo, 22, joined the Blues in June, midway through an NWSL season in which she had scored five goals and notched four assists in nine games for North Carolina Courage.
Her attacking output, which also saw her named NWSL midfielder of the year in 2025 after scoring 11 goals and providing four assists, should improve Chelsea's faltering attack.
Sonia Bompastor’s charges finished third in the Barclays Women’s Super League last season - six points adrift of league champions Manchester City - ending their six-year dominance over the division.
Chelsea’s struggles were largely due to their decreased productivity in front of goal. They scored just 44 times during the 2025/26 season - their joint lowest tally since 2017/2018, when they won a 10-team BWSL.
Alyssa Thompson and Sam Kerr were tied as their league top scorers on seven strikes, a third of what Golden Boot winner Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (21) managed for champions Man City, and no Chelsea player finished inside the top 10 for assists.
A technically gifted player with precise finishing and impressive off-the-ball movement, Bompastor will hope that Matsukubo can improve her side’s scoring return, either through goals of her own or her creative vision.
What can we expect from Matsukubo?
Matsukubo became the youngest player to score an NWSL hat-trick last season, doing so against Bay FC in October 2025 at 21 years and 81 days old. Her trio of goals were a perfect snapshot of what the Japanese talent is capable of.
For the first goal, she does well to read the situation and profit from Bay FC’s poor clearance. The second, also a first-time finish, followed a well-timed run on the break. The third was a clear demonstration of her composure after reading another loose pass and rounding the keeper.
During the same game, Matsukubo unlocked the opposition defence in typical fashion, jinking back to beat two defenders before finding teammate Tyler Lussi - who in turn teed Shinomi Koyama for the goal - with a perfect clipped cross.
Matsukubo during her MVP midfielder campaign in 2025 - and are why so many clubs in Europe were chasing her signature.
Chelsea need players capable of creating better chances if they are to return to the unbeaten levels of Bompasour’s first year in charge and will view their new Japanese attacker as a catalyst for goals.
Equally comfortable as an attacking midfielder or central striker, she can complement a fit-again Mayra Ramirez, playing just in behind the Colombian, or a little deeper in midfield alongside Kiera Walsh and Erin Cuthbert.
With an average of 2.35 chances created per 90 minutes, she ranks in the 96.9th percentile when compared to other midfielders in the NWSL. Lauren James (3.1) was Chelsea’s best performer in that metric last season.
In her final game for the Courage, playing in that deeper role, Matsukubo contributed a goal and an assist to a 2-1 win over Angel City. Her impressive ability to find pockets of space was again clear to see.
Soon after the restart, she found a free area to receive the ball from the wide player before threading through for goalscorer Evelyn Ijeh with a deft pass. It is not difficult to picture a similar move in Chelsea blue.
Her winning goal, 11 minutes from full-time, was a reverse of roles. Matsukubo timed her run to perfection, capping off a brilliant Courage move with a precise bottom corner finish.
Familiar surroundings in a new country
Although this will be Matsukubo's debut campaign in Europe, the Japan international arrives with an idea of English football following several conversations with Chelsea's Maika Hamano.
“There’s a lot of Japanese players in the BWSL, so I’ve been following it for years. It’s very tough and intense," Matsukubo, who made her international debut last year, explained in her first interview with the Stamford Bridge club.
“After receiving the offer from Chelsea, I spoke to Maika. Also, throughout the years before receiving an offer, I was always curious and would ask Maika what the club is like.
"We spoke a lot about the experience at Chelsea. She always spoke about how high the level is at Chelsea, so I am now excited to join.”
She is right to point out the number of Japanese players in the BWSL, as seven were plying their trade for clubs who finished inside the top five last season and two more have joined the league this summer.
Matsukubo joins Chelsea at the right time for both parties. No longer a hidden gem in the NWSL, where he scored 19 goals in 60 career appearances, she has long desired to move across to Europe.
Changes to NWSL contract laws in March mean clubs can now exceed the salary cap by up to $1million (£750,000) for High Impact Player (HIP) deals. Matsukubo was under consideration for such terms in North Carolina but opted to move to Europe.
The NWSL’s loss is Chelsea's gain. The Blues will play all of their games at Stamford Bridge next season, a move that will raise expectations of the eight-time BWSL champions.
Matsukubo - alongside fellow summer signing Melvine Malard - looks to be a player that can nudge Chelsea back in the right direction. Time will tell for the Blues as they aim to reassert their dominance over the BWSL.
