English forward Jodie Taylor has secured a temporary move to Olympique Lyonnais.
The Lioness joins the sister club to her parent team OL Reign on a short-term loan basis. Taylor will sport Lyon colours until December this year.
The 34-year-old has represented 15 different clubs in her career. She has played football on three different continents.
The Merseyside-born striker has scored 14 goals in her two seasons at Reign. Her move comes in the wake of the OL Groupe’s takeover of the Tacoma-based club.
As a former Arsenal attacker, Taylor isn’t new to success on a club or international level. She has been a consistent member of the Lionesses for the majority of her career.
Embed from Getty ImagesTaylor secured victory over Argentina with her only goal of the game at the 2019 World Cup. She’ll be hoping her move to Lyon brings back more successful times for her.
It wasn’t too long ago that she was winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2017, scoring five in four.
Where Would She Fit in at Lyon?
With Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg out of action with an ACL injury, Lyon were in need of attacking reinforcement.
Manager Jean-Luc Vasseur knows that his side will need some added depth heading into the final stages of the Champions League.
“At OL we are not that far away from being able to have two teams,” Vasseur told Equipeire. “All of them are international players and we have to preserve them as well as keep performing.
“When you are the current Champions League champion, French Cup champions, French champions, Trophée des Championnes champion and Women’s ICC champion, you have to always be performant.”
Embed from Getty ImagesTaylor’s deal with Lyon will be for the remainder of 2020. Though, the move indicates how the two OL sides will make use of the new partnership.
“We are happy that Jodie will be able to pursue this opportunity and would gladly welcome her back to our club in the future,” said Reign CEO Bill Predmore.
With the amount of depth the French side already have in attack, Taylor will most likely return stateside for the 2021 NWSL season. Even when Hegerberg is out, Lyon can call upon the likes of Delphine Cascarino and Nikita Parris.
Competition for places in the side of last season’s Champions League winners will be rife when the tournament resumes.
Lyon face Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of Europe’s top competition. Their fixture will take place on August 22.
