I've just finished a close look at some goals for and against trends, opponent by opponent, over the course of the last three seasons. I don't think it's a matter of "Close, but no cigar." The numbers say that Portland has been on a downward trend and in the near future may not even be "close" unless there's a change. Credit to them for recognizing this early and working to reverse the trends right away.
Looks like the Diani to Thorns move has been finalised: Une Française file aux 🇺🇸 @NWSL #D1F #WishYouTheBest @FFF— Romain Balland (@RomBalland) March 7, 2020
Does anyone know anything about Diallo? I can't find anything online except this: She's (relatively) young at 24 and if she's at all quick, she would be a badly needed addition for the Royals.
Here are all her statistics. Capped at nearly every level for France, more than 100 D1 games, 15 Champions League games. She is a defensive midfielder.
According to her French Wikipedia article, she regularly makes 16+ regular season appearances for PSG and 5+ other appearances per year, so for a team that plays maybe 30 games per year, she seems to be a pretty solid presence for France's #2 team. At the same time, she hasn't really broken on to the French NT yet, so I guess she should be a very reliable player, if not world-class talent.
Shirley Cruz is headed to the Reign, at some date in the future. Report out of Costa Rica says Shirley Cruz, who is the original generational talent for Las Ticas, is headed to OL Reign in the NWSL. Cruz played for Farid Benstiti at both Lyon and PSG. https://t.co/fs4DxlmOUo— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) March 17, 2020
A little on the older side, but definitely a fairly big-name pickup! On a related note, I really hope NWSL becomes the definitive destination for Western-hemisphere talent like MLS has been attracting talent from Mexico, CRC, Argentina, etc. - and maybe Asian & African talent as well. It'll be hard to compete with European superclubs for the best European talent, but if NWSL expands to get enough roster spots, it really should be the destination for everyone else.
Just 1 new team in 2021 - as of right now. Shimmy on over to the Expansion forum to see what all has been discussed thus far.
For Western-hemisphere talent NWSL should be natural. For Asian & African talents, perhaps not. Most of those countries (particularly in Africa) has fairly tight links with their former colonial power when it comes to education, business or opportunities they can't get at home and since those colonial powers more often than not is England or France I suspect their leagues will take most of those talents.
Orlando have signed Jade Moore from Reading. Another defensive midfielder. Very tenacious, she is a destroyer. Likes a yellow card by putting the foot in.
Utah royals love the D1 Arkema, they are bringing Sarah Bouhaddi and Dzenifer Marozsan on a free transfer: La gardienne et la milieu de terrain lyonnaises devraient rejoindre le club de @UtahRoyalsFC, en périphérie de Salt Lake City (Utah), cet été https://t.co/8idfUAzI2E— Marion Saive (@MarionSaive) April 14, 2020
Let me just say that I logged in today about ten minutes ago and had my mouth agape that entire time while trying to wrap my mind around these signings. Utah just causally acquired two World-XI-calibur players out of the blue wtf
ALSO HOW THE F DID UTAH GET THESE PLAYERS FROM LYON AND NOT THE REIGN??? the more I think about this the less it makes sense wtfffff
No official confirmation if you read the article in French. Just a rumor at this stage. Frankly, I don't see Utah signing any new players while they're furloughing staff. EDIT: MLS fans have been seeing articles like this for over 20 years and most of them amount to nothing but posturing from the players' agent(s) or for publicity.
Both are free agents. Bouhaddi expressed many times the willingness to play abroad and after 11 seasons with Lyon, time for a change. Maroszan and Bouhaddi are close friends... Rumour confirmed by three different outlets.
I think the Covid -19 situation is not helping to finalise the deals. But when RMC and Le Progrès come with the same information from sources close to the players...
Bouhaddi leaving Lyon is now official. N E W P O S T pic.twitter.com/WY1JXRQ8wl— Bouhaddi sarah (@BouhaddiSarah) April 18, 2020
FWIW, the Salt Lake Tribune just announced it: Utah Royals to acquire goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan from French club, writes @AlexVReporting ... https://t.co/26tLXJmSSX— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) April 19, 2020