Official: Brighton sign Nicky Evrard on loan from Chelsea

Chelsea snapped up goalkeeper Nicky Evrard this summer, to add her to our “goalkeeping union” as Emma Hayes put it at the time, but as it turns out, Evrard will be part of the goalkeeping union over at Brighton & Hove Albion instead, having joined them on a season-long loan yesterday.

Evrard, who wasn’t even a full-time professional before signing with Chelsea, came into international prominence due to her heroics at the 2022 European Championship with Belgium, reaching the quarterfinals, and had hoped to replicate those performances in a Chelsea shirt as well. While she won’t be able to do that this year, our goalkeeping situation could shift in the future, with Ann-Katrin Berger approaching a contract year and the rest of the group still developing towards their full potentials (including Zećira Mušović, who had a wonderful World Cup over the summer).

Brighton barely survived the drop in the Women’s Super League last season, so Evrard might get plenty of shot-stopping practice indeed.

Good luck, Nicky!