Olivia Smith: Arsenal sign Liverpool forward for world record £1m fee

Smith’s football journey began aged five when she joined Whitby Iroquois SC, and she made her debut in the Canada youth set-up at 12.

Fast forward three years to 2019 and she was catapulted on to the international stage, featuring against Brazil and New Zealand at an invitational tournament in Chongqing, China.

Smith went on to represent Canada at two Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships (2022, 2023) and two Women’s U20 World Cups (2022, 2024), and returned to the senior side in 2023, earning selection for that year’s World Cup.

She scored her first international goal in a 6-0 victory over El Salvador at the 2024 Gold Cup and was named the tournament’s best young player.

Smith is seen not only as the successor to talismanic record goalscorer Christine Sinclair but the key to Canada’s hopes of winning international honours.

At club level, Smith began her career in 2022 with North Toronto Nitros in League 1 Ontario, winning the golden boot in her debut campaign with 18 goals in 11 games.

She then spent one season in the NCAA playing college football for Penn State Nittany Lions before forgoing the rest of her university eligibility to turn professional, signing a three-year contract with Sporting in July 2023.

They fought off competition from Chelsea and PSG, and, for then head coach Mariana Cabral, Smith’s potential was clear.

“Thirty seconds into the video we were like, ‘yep, let’s sign her’. She was clearly a whole package, which is very rare,” Cabral told BBC Sport.

“Not only did she have the technical ability, but she also had the physicality. She’s explosive and strong, good on the ball and can nutmeg you to get past you like that.

“She wanted to get her professional career started and that’s why she came to us. She liked us because of the way we played at the time – very possession-based, very attacking – and she needed minutes to grow.

“But we knew Portugal was a stepping stone for her; she would go on to bigger places.”

In her first season in Europe, Smith amassed 22 goals involvements (13 goals, nine assists) in 18 league appearances as she collected another best young player gong and Sporting finished second in the table.

She also caught the attention of Liverpool, signing before the 2024-25 season.