Chelsea have amassed quite the trophy collection over the last few seasons - including five consecutive Women's Super League titles - but there is one they have never won: the Women's Champions League.
There is only one English women's club to have claimed the European silverware which was Arsenal back in 2007. The Blues have made it clear over the last few campaigns that a Champions League title is their ambition and they came close in the 2020/21 season as they reached the final. However, they lost 4-0 to Barcelona in the game in Gothenburg.
With the Champions League trophy still just out of touch, the Blues have recruited huge stars to try and get them over the line. The recent winter transfer window saw some record-breaking signings and one that could be the key to European success: Keira Walsh.
Chelsea: Can they win the Champions League?
Walsh signed for Chelsea from Barcelona on a four-and-a-half year deal for a reported £400,000. The England international, who won the Euros with the Lionesses in 2022, had a silverware-packed spell with the Spanish giants.
She won two Women's Champions League titles, two Liga F titles, a Spanish Cup and three Spanish Super Cups during her two-and-a-half years with Barca.
But it's not just the silverware plaudits she brings to Chelsea, it is her brilliant skill and understanding of the game. Fans just have to watch the Euro 2022 final to understand what Walsh, who is number three on FourFourTwo's list of best current players, can bring to a team. She was the player all things were played through in that tournament and she has performed that role for every team she has been a part of.
Chelsea's head of women’s football Paul Green said of what she can bring to the club: "She is a composed defensive midfielder, with excellent technical attributes and world-class football intelligence. Her playing style and ability to dictate the tempo of the game will be crucial to our game model as we move forward."
It may also be a coincidence but it does speak volumes that Barcelona lost their first league game in 46 fixtures in their first game without Walsh at the club.
Walsh brings with her a host of experience but also a heap of ambition. She said upon arriving at the Blues: "Not many teams have what they've [Chelsea] got, they always find a way to win, no matter how the goals come, how the goals look, they always score.
"I think that's the exciting thing for me because we've got so many levels to go. Hopefully I can win the Champions League with an English team."
Her Chelsea teammate Johanna Rytting Kaneryd also told FourFourTwo Walsh adds "something different" to the club.
The Blues Champions League ambitions are clear, not only through the Walsh signing but also through the other moves they have made in recent transfer windows.
The club broke the women's football transfer fee to bring in defender Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave in January. The star has not made her Chelsea debut yet because of injury but she has been hailed as "the best defender I've ever seen" by USWNT manager Emma Hayes. Her titles, both in a team and an individual, speak to that.
She was the first defender to be named USWNT player of the year, an accolade she has won twice. Girma also aided her national side to the Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games.
On top of Girma's signing was five-time Champions League winner Lucy Bronze last summer. Bronze has won the trophy with Lyon and Barcelona and has more than proved her weight in gold - despite joining on a free - with her impressive performances for the Blues this season in their unbeaten run across all competitions.
Their Women's Champions League bid this season is on track. Chelsea topped their group, winning all six of their matches when coming up against Real Madrid, Twente and Celtic.
But the Blues will need their big name signings to step up in the knock-out stages as they have once again been drawn on a difficult path. In the quarter-finals they must overcome WSL rivals Manchester City. City are experiencing a downturn in form of late but on their day they are as lethal as any club with Gareth Taylor's side defeating defending champions Barcelona in the group stage.
If Chelsea manage to get past City, either two-time winners Wolfsburg or three-time champions Barca await them in the semis. The Spanish team have knocked out the Blues in the last two seasons in the semi-finals so it will be a huge mountain for the English club to climb.
If they manage to overcome their nemesis, the opposition in the final will not be any easier. On the other side of the draw are Arsenal, Real Madrid, Lyon and Bayern Munich.
So can Chelsea win the Women's Champions League this season? Absolutely. Have their star signings increased their chances? Most definitely. The club will be hoping those big names will come good come the business end of the season.
