Everton Women have secured what could be their most ambitious signing since rejoining the top tier of the Women’s Super League three seasons ago and it’s giving manager Willie Kirk’s Champions League ambitions some heft.

England midfielder Izzy Christiansen has left Lyon for Everton on an 18-month deal and we couldn’t be more pleased with the direction this club is headed, especially given how far the team has come since Kirk has taken over a year ago.

Christiansen played with Everton back in 2008 before joining Birmingham City in 2009 and then signing with Manchester City in 2014 where she won the PFA Women Players’ Player of the Year award in 2016.

Christiansen told Everton.com that she was excited to be coming back to Everton:

“I used to train at USM Finch Farm when I played for Everton back in the day and I can see how the training facility has grown. The fact that the women’s team are fully integrated within this great facility is testament to that.”

On 23 July 2018, Christiansen joined Olympique Lyon, a team who regularly wins the Champions League and is considered the most elite women’s club team.

Unfortunately, in March 2019, Christiansen underwent ankle surgery and was not chosen for England’s 2019 World Cup squad in France but now she can use the second half of the season to show the world what we missed out on over the summer.

Only toffee wrapper I opened this Christmas

Let’s go @EvertonWomen pic.twitter.com/ytKdqqJQuW — Izzy Christiansen (@IzzyChr17) December 28, 2019

Everton Women currently have a stacked roster in midfield with the likes of Inessa Kaagman, and Lucy Graham so it should be interesting to see who will be getting less minutes to make room for Christiansen, who would have been ready to start the now postponed game this Sunday against West Ham United.

Kirk told The Telegraph that he wants Everton to “get back to days of senior England internationals” and to “be just as big as the perceived top four” and by bringing on an elite player like Christiansen who has been capped over thirty times by the Lionesses, he has started what could eventually become a Champions League reality.