Arsenal Women have confirmed the signing of England international Nikita Parris from Lyon for a club-record fee.
The deal for the 27-year-old striker is worth up to £86,000, with £67,000 being paid up front and the rest in bonuses.
Parris is currently preparing to compete in the Tokyo Olympics with Team GB and will join up with the Gunners in pre-season.
Prior to leaving Manchester City for France, she held the record as the all-time leading scorer in the Women’s Super League with 49 goals.
She also won the 2016 league title, the 2016 and 2018/19 Women’s Super League Cup, as well as the 2016/17 and 2018/19 Women’s FA Cup.
On signing for Arsenal, she told the club’s official website: “I’m very happy to be here. Arsenal has an unbelievable history and I want to be a part of this.
“I want to achieve all domestic titles and compete in the Champions League here. I’m happy to be back in the WSL which has grown and improved so much since I left.”
Parris was named the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2019 and was included in The Guardian’s list of The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World in 2018 and 2019.
She won the 2019/20 UEFA Women’s Champions League during her time at Lyon, as well as the 2020 Coupe de France Feminine, the 2019 Trophee des Championnes, and the 2019 Women’s International Champions Cup.
Parris also played a key role for England as they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2017 and achieved a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
Her six goals during World Cup qualification ranked first within UEFA nations and secured England’s place at the top tournament.
Parris also helped England win their first SheBelieves Cup in 2019 and will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
Parris won the 2019/20 UEFA Women’s Champions League during her time at Lyon
New Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall added: “I’m very pleased to have signed Nikita and add to our strong strike force.
“She is a talented player and has a winners mentality and I’m looking forward to working with her once she returns from the Olympics.”
Meanwhile, Lyon remain keen on signing Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema and have been in discussions this summer. The French club are also trying to secure the services of USA midfielder Lindsay Horan.
Arsenal face Okzhetpes in Champions League
Arsenal will face Kazakhstan’s Okzhetpes in the first qualifying round of the new-look Women’s Champions League.
The Gunners, who finished third in the Women’s Super League last term, are scheduled to play the match on August 18 in what will be their first competitive outing under Eidevall.
The winners of the contest will then face the victors of PSV Eindhoven vs Lokomotiv Moscow three days later in one of the first qualifying round ‘finals’.
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