Tom Hamilton
ZURICH — Lauren Hemp has hailed the impending first £1 million ($1.35m) transfer in the women’s game as “great to see” and proof of the growing interest in the sport.
Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal have tabled a world-record offer for Liverpool’s Olivia Smith, with the fee set to reach seven figures and exceed the transfer fee commanded by Naomi Girma when she joined Chelsea.
Hemp believes the rising transfer fees are good for the women’s game.
“I think it’s the direction that the women’s game’s going and it is great to see,” Hemp said. “We’re in a bit of a bubble at the moment [in their Euros camp], so we’re not really seeing much of that.
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“We’re just focusing on [the] tournament, it is great to see and proof that women’s footballers are great and that is the way that the game’s going. So if so, long may that continue.”
Hemp’s immediate focus, however, is on Wales on Sunday in Euro 2025. The Lionesses started their campaign with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to France, but they bounced back with a commanding 4-0 win over the Netherlands.
“I feel like there can never be a perfect game and there are things we can improve,” Hemp said of the win over the Netherlands.
“There were times in that game where we still wanted to get the momentum back. We were so proud of that performance and the fight we showed to come back after being so disappointed from the previous result. It showed resilience and that’s us, it’s what we want to portray.”
A win against Wales in St. Gallen on Sunday, and England be in the knockout stage of the Euros. They will be overwhelming favourites for the match against a Wales team who are in their first major tournament.
“We definitely won’t go into the game complacent,” Hemp said. “Wales have done well in this tournament and deserve to be here. We have so much respect for them. They have a lot of great players who I have experienced playing against week-in, week-out in the WSL.
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“They have a good team but we also know we have a good team as well and have so many strengths. We have looked at their strengths and what we can do to make sure we can deliver the best England performance.”
Given the perilous situation England found themselves in after the France defeat, Hemp said the Lionesses have already adopted a knockout stage mentality.
“This team is full of experienced players and it definitely will help us going forward. We’re taking each game like a final for us. Everyone knows what it feels like to play in high-pressure situations. It’s important we continue that. We also have younger players coming in who are fresh and have come on to make a difference. Hopefully that will take us far in the tournament.
“It’s going to be a really tough match. We have so much respect for Wales. They have done well in the tournament so far but we’re really desperate to win. We will just play to our strengths and do what we do. What you will get is a lot of fight and a lot of character. We will do our best to win.”
