Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Kathrine Kuhl from FC Nordsjælland on a permanent deal.
The highly rated 19-year-old is a full international with Denmark and has already been capped 21 times by her country. She is the second Arsenal signing of the January transfer window after Dutch star Victoria Pelova joined on Friday.
The transfer was widely expected to go through this month and the club has now confirmed the deal. The midfielder's arrival further boosts Jonas Eidevall's options after Jordan Nobbs' departure and with Vivianne Miedema out injured for the rest of the season.
"I'm very excited and am looking forward to playing for Arsenal. It's a big step for me," Kuhl said. "I feel like there are so many great things around the club; all the fans and the community, it's like a sisterhood in some way. So, I'm looking forward to being a part of that."
"Kathrine is one of the brightest talents in Europe so we’re delighted to have brought her to Arsenal," added head coach Eidevall. “She will bring added creativity to our midfield and I’m sure she will benefit from working closely with some of our experienced players. I’m looking forward to working with her here at Arsenal moving forward."
Head of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley said: "We’re delighted to have brought Kathrine to Arsenal.
"She is one of the most highly rated young footballers in the game and fits the profile of player we want to bring to the club perfectly. I’m sure our supporters will join me in welcoming Kathrine to our club."
Kuhl did feature for Denmark throughout Euro 2022, predominantly on the left-side of midfield. She was sent off as a substitute in the dying minutes of a defeat to Germany, but did impress in a narrow defeat to Spain before the Danes exited.
Kuhl's first senior season for FC Nordsjælland in 2019/2020 ended with silverware, when she helped her side to glory in the Danish Women’s Cup. However, her arrival may have repercussions for other players as Arsenal look to balance the squad to meet registration rules.
Before the January window Arsenal had a squad of 21 with WSL sides capped at naming 25 senior players, eight of which have to qualify as 'homegrown'. The arrivals of Kuhl and Pelova have only added to the number of non-homegrown players they currently have.
This means their squad is capped at 23 as things stand, due to Jordan Nobbs' departure for Aston Villa. Prior to Nobbs leaving, Arsenal only had seven 'homegrown' players meaning they could only name 24 players in the squad.
That number has now dropped again, to six, thanks to the English midfielder moving on. As a result the Gunners only have room for one more overseas signing in January beyond Kuhl and Pelova, at least as things current stand.
After that they will need to either give an academy player a professional contract or sign another player who meets the 'homegrown' criteria, or further overseas signings will be off the table.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with Brazilian international Debinha in recent weeks. But with their current squad size, any further non-homegrown signings would leave no room for her registration, throwing that deal into doubt.
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