London City Lionesses have pulled off one of the highest-profile signings in the short history of the Women’s Championship by completing a move for Sweden’s Kosovare Asllani.
The 34-year-old former Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester City forward, who can also play in midfield, was unveiled alongside the English second-tier club’s new manager, Jocelyn Prêcheur, at a luxurious London hotel on Thursday.
Prêcheur is making a switch to the Championship from Paris Saint-Germain, whom the Frenchman led to last season’s Women’s Champions League semi-finals, and securing his signature is similarly a notable coup for a team who are yet to play in the English top tier.
Asllani, who was in the Manchester City side that won the 2016 Women’s Super League title, has been capped a remarkable 187 times by Sweden, scoring 46 international goals. She helped the team win silver medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and to finish third at the 2019 and 2023 Women’s World Cups. She is widely recognised as one of the best attacking midfielders of her generation in Europe.
The arrival of such internationallyrecognised names in Asllani and Prêcheur was accompanied by further announcements from the club, including that they will be relocating to play their home fixtures in Bromley next season, moving away from their previous match-day home in Dartford. The club are understood to believe that having a home within the boundaries of London is the right move for a club that bears the capital’s name.
London City Lionesses are owned by the US-businesswoman Michele Kang, who also owns Washington Spirit in her homeland’s National Women’s Soccer League and Lyon, the eight-time European champions. Kang took over the English side this winter and also announced on Thursday that they have purchased their own training ground in Kent.
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She has ambitions to take London City Lionesses up into the Women’s Super League. The club finished eighth in the Championship last season, nine points clear of the relegation zone and 21 points adrift of the division’s only promotion spot, which was claimed by Crystal Palace.