The arrival of Lucy Bronze was made official yesterday by Olympique Lyonnais, with a three-year contract for the English international who played so far with the Manchester City club. A transfer that has the counterpart of the departure of Pauline Bremer who makes the same path but in the opposite direction and joins the Citizens.


Yesterday, Lucy Bronze was named in the list of the ten players selected for the FIFA prize of best player of the year 2017. An appointment that rewards one of the best players of the last Euro, decisive in the match won against France in quarterfinal.

An essential player in the English selection


She was probably the best side of the tournament (with the Danish Theresa Nielsen), including his ability to take on his defensive duties while being regularly decisive in the construction of English offensives.


Lieke Martens, voted the best player in the Euro has also had its most complicated match against England and Lucy Bronze in the English right lane where the Dutch striker has not radiated much. But the Euro achieved by Lucy Bronze is not a surprise for a player who became one of the highlights of the selection of Mark Sampson and elected English player of the season (2016/2017) for the second time in four years.


=> The portrait of Lucy Bronze before the Euro (The players to follow)


The two sides of the British Lionesses, Lucy Bronze and Demi Stokes are also the symbol of the England team that defends in advancing, as high as possible while trying to stifle the opposing game. A way to defend that goes with a capacity to project quickly forward and in the case of Lucy Bronze a technical quality that goes with his energy deployed on the ground in 90 minutes.


The good and loyal services of Pauline Bremer


With Manchester City, Lucy Bronze has won everything for two years on the national scene. Cups, championship, but for Europe, it was perhaps necessary to change air, although City had proved tougher than expected for the Lyonnaises in the semifinals of the last Champions League.


The fact that she now replaces Pauline Bremer in the Lyon squad echoes some of Gérard Prêcheur's reflections last season, sometimes hesitating to make Bremer stand in the corridor in a lateral position. A training striker, Bremer regularly played at the right side post in Lyon with adjustments, and extra work for the German player to adapt to a position that is not hers.


The 3-5-2 formation often made it possible to compromise between Bremer and Amel Majri's attacking qualities on the left, while making them participate in the defensive tasks on the sides. Pauline Bremer had also made one of her best matches with Lyon in the Champions League final against Wolfsburg in 2016 when she was one of the best Lyonnaises match.


Looking for a more defensive profile?


Regularly handicapped by injuries, Pauline Bremer has nevertheless managed to achieve great performances with OL, either in the European Cup or in the championship in the top table duels, quality and simplicity off the field that have made a valued player in the Rhone. It may pay today the need for Lyon to have a more defensive profile on the sides, while players like Elodie Thomis, Delphine Cascarino or Emelyne Laurent may apply to evolve in attack on one side.


A departure that remains a blow when this season saw the development of a particularly productive technical relationship between Bremer and Dzsenifer Marozsan, his teammate and compatriot. With Lucy Bronze, however, Reynald Pedros has a broken 3-5-2 player, regularly used by Mark Sampson with England, and able to play very high in the hall but also to play in a more traditional role of lateral .


All qualities that make the transfer of Lucy Bronze, the most important reinforcement of the summer for a French club and a sign that Lyon will defend dearly all the titles won by OL in the past two seasons.