NWSL news: Kgatlana departs Racing for Tigres, McCaskill joins Wave, Mewis reported to be moving to West Ham

NWSL news: Racing Louisville transfer forward Thembi Kgatlana to Tigres in exchange for largest fee in the Kentucky side's history

The protected players list prior to the expansion draft seemed to act as a little foreshadowing. Something was brewing, and now we all know what. Announced by Racing Louisville FC on Tuesday, South African star forward Thembi Kgatlana has been transferred from Kentucky to Liga MX Femenil side Tigres UANL. The fee that the Mexican outfit paid was reported to be $275,000 with the potential of that number growing over time given the future bonuses in the exchange. Per the statement, the now ex-Racing forward's intention was to depart this offseason.

The South African's time in Louisville was hampered by a substantial injury after coming across the pond from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2022. It delayed her first appearance for the club until May 6, 2023, on the road in Orlando.

The forward found the back of the net in just her second start for the purple and black, lifting the club to a 2-0 victory over the eventual NWSL champions. At the World Cup this past summer, Kgatlana was key to South Africa punching a ticket to the Round of 16 for the first time in its nation's history.

On the pitch and in the locker room, No. 11 is going to be sorely missed at Lynn Family Stadium. She becomes the third player with at least four goal contributions across all competitions for Racing in 2023 to depart the club over the last few weeks. Beverly Yanez's attention is on attempting to replace that production in the final third of the pitch to help out Savannah Demelo, and Kirsten Davis.