Posing in one of her early football photos alongside all-time international goal-scoring leader Christine Sinclair, Olivia Smith might never have thought that she, too, would become a world-record maker.
Yet, the Canadian forward is set to become a world-record transfer, reports, as Arsenal prepare to spend the first £1 million (US $1.4 million) fee in women’s football to bring in the 20-year-old from Liverpool ahead of the new Barclays Women’s Super League Season.
“When I was younger, women’s soccer wasn’t even broadcast as much, and I would be going on YouTube to watch videos of my idols, Christine Sinclair, and Marta,” she told Canadian Soccer Daily in 2024. “To even think about playing pro anywhere or being a part of the national team felt like a reach.”
Smith’s rise in recent years has been fast, but somewhat expected after she made her senior international debut at just 15 years old, after previously debuting with the U-17s as a 12-year-old.
After just one college season with Penn State, she opted to sign professionally with Portugal’s Sporting CP, and thrived in her first pro season, scoring 13 goals in 18 games.
“I only went to university to play football,” Smith told The Athletic, having suffered an injury in her first season, but previously scoring 18 goals in 11 League1 Ontario games with the North Toronto Nitros, the top level of semipro women’s soccer in Canada “So the fact I couldn’t….It’s a miracle that someone saw me within those couple of games.”
With her success in Portugal, Liverpool stepped up to pay just over £200,000 (US $270,200) ahead of the 2024-25 WSL season, bringing her to one of the top leagues in the women’s game.
Starting as a 19-year-old, she quickly carved herself a role as a physical and technical striker who can also play on the wing, scoring seven goals in 20 games for the Merseyside club, helping them to seventh in the WSL table.
Now, she is set to eclipse the £900,000 move that Chelsea made for Naomi Girma from the San Diego Wave earlier in 2025, as Arsenal prepare to spend a record fee and take on the remaining years of her current contract.
