Ellie Carpenter signs with women's football powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais

Westfield Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter has signed with one of the most dominant teams in women's football, Olympique Lyonnais. 

Carpenter's move to the French side follows an agreement being struck between American side Portland Thorns and the current European Champions, Lyon. She is set to become the third Westfield Matilda in the French League following Mary Fowler (Montpellier) and earlier this week, Emma Checker (FC Fleury 91).

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The move to Europe is a significant one for the 20 year old full back as she joins one of the most dominant women's football clubs in the past decade.  

This lastest news comes on the back of a big 12 months for the Westfield Matilda with the full back making her FIFA Women's World Cup debut in 2019, playing the NWSL finals and claiming her first Westfield W-League Premiership and Championship with Melbourne City.  

It has been a rapid rise from the fields of Cowra to the biggest stages and teams in women's football.  

After starting her Westfield W-League career at the age of 15 with the Western Sydney Wanderers (2015 to 2017), Carpenter's pace and tenacity on the ball saw her catch the attention of the national team selectors.  

Ellie Lyon
Ellie Carpenter in action for the Westfield Matildas (Photo: Rachel Bach / FFA)

By the age of 16, the teenager earned her first call up and debuted against Vietnam at the 2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers in Osaka, Japan.  That same year saw Carpenter named as the youngest athlete in the Australian Olympic Team and make her Olympic debut.  

In 2018, Carpenter made the move to another big name club in women's football, the Portland Thorns.  At eighteen years and eleven days, she became the youngest player to take the field and eventually the youngest scorer in the history of the NWSL.

“The Thorns have played an extremely important role in helping me grow and develop as a player over the past two years, and I am grateful to everyone who invested in me during my time in Portland,” Carpenter said on the Thorns FC website.

“I am proud to have been part of this club and want to thank Gavin, Mark, the staff and my teammates for helping me get where I am today."

Carpenter is set to join the star studded Lyon squad following the opening of the transfer window and pending a medical.

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