Everton Women have signed the France international forward Valérie Gauvin from Montpellier with the manager, Willie Kirk, hailing the arrival of the 24-year-old as a “real coup”.
Gauvin, who has signed a three-year-deal with the Women’s Super League club, has spent the past six years with Montpellier and scored an impressive 14 goals in 16 league appearances during curtailed the 2019-20 season.
She has played for her country 31 times and was part of the team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup. Before playing for Montpellier, she represented Toulouse.
Kirk said: “Signing Valérie is a real coup for the club and a sign of our ambition. For me, she is already one of the top strikers in Europe and taking into account her age and mindset, she will continue to get even better, and I’m delighted to be part of that future development.
“She is going to add a focal point to our attack and will be an important part of what is now a very exciting squad that we have put together.
“Sarvar [Ismailov, Everton Women’s sporting director] has worked tirelessly to get this deal done, and it shows his commitment and ambition to the club with what we want to achieve here.”
Gauvin beomes Everton’s fifth summer signing following the arrivals of Nicoline Sørensen (Brøndby), Rikke Sevecke (FC Fleury), Ingrid Moe Wold (Madrid CFF) and Poppy Pattinson (Bristol City).
