The 28-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year deal with Chelsea until the summer of 2026. Lawrence makes the move from Paris to London after the conclusion of the Division 1 Feminine season in France, where she has represented the Parisians for the past six years.

Having been selected to represent Canada at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, the third World Cup of her career, Lawrence will link up with compatriots Jessie Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan before joining Chelsea ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Ahead of her first season in Blue, Lawrence said: ‘I’m really excited and grateful to be joining such a top club in England and in Europe. There are a lot of emotions, excitement and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone, the rest of the players and staff, and to next season.’

Manager Emma Hayes commented: ‘Ashley has established herself as one of the best full-backs in the women’s game for both club and country. Her ability to get forward, her progressive play into the final third is a standout strength and she can play on both the left and right side. We’re really looking forward to having her with us.’

General manager Paul Green added: ‘We’ve tracked Ashley over a number of years and we are thrilled to bring her in to the club. Ashley is one of the best attacking full-backs in the world and will add another dimension to our play.’

An athletic and attacking full-back, Lawrence is adaptable and can play on both the right or left side of the defence. During her youth career, she trained as a midfielder and played collegiately for West Virginia University.

After turning professional in 2017, she joined PSG where she went on to play 180 matches for the club. During her time in the French capital, she contributed to three domestic honours with one league title and two French Cups to her name.

Lawrence brings experience of the European stage and was part of the PSG team who finished runners-up to Lyon during the 2016/17 UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign. She was also nominated for the 2021 Ballon d’Or, finishing eighth in the final results.

At international level, the Canadian has surpassed a century of caps for her country. In 2019, Lawrence was named Canada Soccer’s Female Player of the Year and has enjoyed medal success at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.

She helped Canada secure a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she started five of their six matches and got an assist for the opening goal in the bronze medal match against hosts Brazil.

At Tokyo 2020, Lawrence was a key contributor to their gold medal-winning campaign. She began all six of Canada’s matches notching an assist against Great Britain in the preliminary round and scoring in the quarter-final penalty shootout victory against Brazil.

Everyone at Chelsea is thrilled to welcome Ashley to the club, and we look forward to seeing her in Blue next season.