Daniëlle van de Donk leaves Arsenal and joins mammoth Lyon overhaul

Lyon have announced the signings of the goalkeeper Christiane Endler and the forwards Signe Bruun and Daniëlle van de Donk to kickstart the big summer of transfers promised by the president and owner of the seven-times European champions, Jean-Michel Aulas.

The French club’s 14-year reign as Division 1 Féminine champions was ended by PSG, who won a first league title. The Parisian side also knocked their domestic rivals out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

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As a result of the disappointing season for Lyon, Jean-Luc Vasseur was replaced as manager in April with the former Lyon midfielder and academy director Sonia Bompastor, who became the club’s first female manager.

Van de Donk joins Lyon on a free transfer after six seasons at Arsenal. The Netherlands forward won the FA Cup in 2016, League Cup in 2018 and WSL in 2019. The 29-year-old helped win Euro 2017 on home soil and finish as runners-up at the 2019 World Cup in France.

Endler is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world and conceded just four goals in 22 league games last season. She was named in the Fifpro Women’s World XI in 2020 and has signed a deal that will keep her in Lyon until 2024.

The 23-year-old Bruun has signed a two-year deal after scoring 10 goals in 31 league appearances for PSG. The Denmark player began her professional career at Fortuna Hjørring, where she won two league titles.

Lyon have also announced it has reached an agreement in principle with 23-year-old PSG left-back Perle Morroni.

As part of Lyon’s overhaul, the goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, the forward Eugénie Le Sommer and the midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsán have all joined the Tacoma, Washington-based OL Reign, the team purchased by Lyon’s owners in the US. The Japanese midfielder Saki Kumagai moved to Bayern Munich and the England forward Nikita Parris is set to join Arsenal.