England striker Jodie Taylor signs for European champions Lyon
Jodie Taylor, the England forward, has signed for reigning European champions Lyon until the end of 2020.
The 34-year-old former Arsenal striker has been playing in the United States with OL Reign, who were recently taken over by Lyon's parent company, OL Groupe.
In joining Lyon, Taylor will link up with fellow England internationals Nikita Parris, Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood and could feature for the French champions on August 22, when Lyon resume their Champions League campaign against Bayern Munich in the last eight.
Should Lyon win that fixture - and Arsenal beat Paris St-Germain - Taylor could come up against her former team in the semi-finals of the competition, which was halted earlier this year due to coronavirus.
Speaking about her move, Taylor told Lyon’s website: "I'm very happy to join OL and can't wait to play with my new team.
"I just finished my season with OL Reign in the United States but I kind of stay in the same family.
"I talked a lot with my English team-mates like Lucy Bronze who has been at the club for a long time, and I couldn't refuse the opportunity to play for one of the best teams in the world."
Her time with Bronze and Greenwood is likely to be short, however, with the duo expected to join Manchester City ahead of the new Women’s Super League season, which starts on September 5.
Taylor, whose domestic career has taken her to Australia, Sweden and Canada, has played for her country at the last two Women's World Cups, and was the top scorer at Euro 2017 after scoring five goals in England's run to the semi-finals.
Bill Predmore, the chief executive of Lyon, added: "When the opportunity arose for Jodie to move to OL to support their run in the Coupe de France and Champions League – as well as for the first part of OL’s upcoming season – we felt it important to support Jodie given all she has contributed to the club.
"We are happy that Jodie will be able to pursue this opportunity and would gladly welcome her back to our club in the future."
