OL Reign has announced that it acquired the future playing rights of Washington Spirit midfielder and USWNT standout Rose Lavelle. In exchange, the Spirit will receive the Reign’s first round draft pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft and $100,000 in allocation money.
After rumors of Lavelle playing overseas following the announcement of Sam Mewis signing with Manchester City, it's now understood that Lavelle will indeed be playing outside of the NWSL for the next year at least, which should be confirmed some time this week.
BREAKING NEWS:
OL Reign acquire the NWSL rights to Rose Lavelle from the Washington Spirit, with the understanding that the USWNT midfielder will play outside the NWSL immediately.Spirit get $100K allocation, 2022 1st-round pick, and additional, conditional allocation money. pic.twitter.com/MsECsLSfJr
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) August 16, 2020
The OL Reign anticipated the USWNT star to miss the next NWSL season, and they made sure to have control of her rights when or if she decides to return to the NWSL — which seems certain to happen eventually due to the league’s connection with U.S. Soccer and her high-caliber player status.
“Rose is an incredible talent that we believe has all the attributes to be the best player in the world. While we would have loved to have Rose join our club today, she fits perfectly into our long-term vision for the squad,” said Reign chief executive Bill Predmore.
Lavelle played a major role in the USWNT's World Cup title last year, scoring three times and winning the Bronze Ball. She also recently helped the Spirit make it to the quarterfinals of the NWSL Challenge Cup.
It's without a doubt that she'll impact whatever team she decides to play for abroad (hopefully Manchester City), but she will be missed in the U.S., that's for sure.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native will be a long way from home but she's not the first USWNT player to take her talents overseas. Alex Morgan joined Lyon, Crystal Dunn played with Chelsea and Sam Mewis just announced her move to Manchester City.
The appreciation for women’s football overseas is shocking and a breath of fresh air knowing that people care about women's sports. She'll thrive in the Women's Super League (WSL) if she joins Man City, and hopefully Lavelle enjoys her time playing across the pond but still finds her way back to the NWSL.
... Welcome @roselavelle ...
Enjoy your time outside the NWSL ... can’t wait to see you in 2021 though.— Jessica Fishlock MBE (@JessFishlock) August 16, 2020
City women are now signing Rose Lavelle apparently, one of the top finishers for women’s Ballon d’Or last year. I love ruining football on both sides. Another person to make me slightly proud of being american pic.twitter.com/METheWhiHt
— Sarah in the mud (@StockprtMaldini) August 16, 2020
