Don’t expect Lindsey Horan back in the NWSL this year.
That’s the message from Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor, who says that the U.S. women’s national team midfielder will remain with the club despite her loan from the Portland Thorns ending next month.
Bompastor, speaking to Lyon’s in-house broadcasting arm, did not have specific details on whether Lyon would complete a transfer for Horan or simply extend her loan.
When Horan’s loan move to Lyon was announced in January 2022, it came in conjunction with news that she had agreed to a contract with Portland running through 2025. While a longer loan is certainly possible, a transfer for one of the staples of the USWNT would very likely require one of the biggest fees ever paid in women’s soccer.
Bompastor additionally stated that Lyon’s other USWNT player, Catarina Macario, will leave on a free transfer this summer. Per a report in The Athletic, Macario — who on Tuesday confirmed that she will miss the World Cup as she continues to rehab a torn ACL — is set to join Chelsea as a free agent.
Per Bompastor, Macario would be joined by some big names leaving Lyon. Amandine Henry, Signe Bruun, Janice Cayman, and Emma Holmgren were also on her list of players that won’t be re-signed once their contracts end.
Lyon move may work for all parties
Under normal circumstances, a player like Horan would be very difficult to acquire on loan, even for Lyon, and on the surface one would expect Portland to be counting the days before her return.
However, the Thorns have adopted a roster-building strategy where they have developed both the strongest starting midfield in the NWSL, as well as its deepest. In head coach Mike Norris’ preferred 4-3-3 formation, Crystal Dunn, Olivia Moultrie, Raquel Rodríguez, Christine Sinclair, and Hina Sugita are all vying for two midfield spots alongside defensive midfielder Sam Coffey.
Were Horan to come back to Portland ASAP, she would still be expected to have a first-choice role, but it would lead to something of a roster imbalance for a stacked side that won the 2022 NWSL final without her.
Meanwhile, Horan has thrived in France. She has been a regular starter on a team that has won the 2021-22 Champions League, two Division 1 Féminine trophies, and this year’s Coupe de France in the 16 months since Horan’s loan began.
It’s a rare case where all parties have the means and motive to make the move without any side losing out. With Lyon under new ownership in the form of ambitious Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, the club seems well-positioned to put up the money it would take to buy out Horan’s contract with Portland and make the move permanent.
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