Birmingham City have signed France youth international striker Chancelle Effa Effa from French side Le Havre for just over £100,000, according to BBC Sport.

The 19-year-old arrives with a year still left on her contract at Le Havre, which makes the modest fee notable. Birmingham, fresh from winning the WSL 2 title last season and earning promotion to the top tier of English women's football, are adding a striker whose résumé already stretches well beyond her years.

Effa Effa came through Le Havre's academy and made her senior debut at 15. In her breakthrough season she helped the Normandy club win promotion back to the French top flight, and by December 2022 she had signed her first professional contract. For a teenager, she has already lived through the kind of pressure moments — promotion races, title chases, international tournaments — that many players wait a whole career to experience.

Her international record catches the eye. Effa Effa has represented France at every age group from the under-16s through to the under-23s, scoring 17 goals in 28 appearances along the way. She was part of the France side that lifted the Women's U17 European title in 2023, and two years later she reached the U19 European final. That pedigree — a proven winner at youth level on the continental stage — is exactly the profile Birmingham are betting on.

Blues manager Amy Merricks said the club had been tracking Effa Effa for some time before making their move. The signing fits a clear pattern: a promoted side looking to strengthen with young, international-quality talent ahead of a step up in class.

For Birmingham fans, the appeal is straightforward. Their team is back in the Women's Super League — the top division of English women's football — and the arrival of a teenage French striker with a trophy cabinet already suggests ambition to do more than just survive. Effa Effa will be one to watch when the new season gets underway.