TransferShanice van de Sanden returns to Liverpool FC Women

The Dutch winger was a hugely popular player during her two seasons with the Reds from 2016 to 2017 and re-joins the club after two years with VfL Wolfsburg.

After leaving Liverpool, she spent three years with Lyon, winning three UEFA Women’s Champions Leagues as well as three French titles and two French cups.

In her international career Van de Sanden is closing in on almost 100 caps for the Netherlands, with whom she won the Women’s Euros in 2017, a year she was also shortlisted for the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year.

LFC Women manager Matt Beard said: “It’s going to be fantastic to have Shanice back. My conversations with her about coming back were just brilliant.

“She’s a character, she’s gone away from here and played for two of the biggest clubs in Europe, she knows the club, she knows the league, she knows the city.

“We’re both really excited to work together but also excited to bring her back. She’s coming back home basically.

“The fans will know she’s an exciting winger, she can get at people, she’s quick. The way we play, I think she’s going to fit right in.

“It’s another experienced player, another player who’s played at the top, top level and we have ambitions to do well in this division.”

Van de Sanden will take the No.19 shirt with the Reds and has already enjoyed a few days of training with her new teammates.

She will link up again with Ashley Hodson, who remains from her previous LFC Women spell, while she is also a former teammate of Yana Daniels at FC Twente.

Van de Sanden said: “It feels amazing to be back. Being back in Liverpool, seeing the girls, meeting the coach, it means a lot to me.

“In my head I was already waiting for them to come back into the first league, I was following them everywhere.

“Coming back, it’s crazy and the ambitions of the club for this team mean a lot to me. A lot has changed since I left.

“I didn’t know Matt at all but after my first phone call I knew I’d sign for Liverpool.

“I really love the girls here and I’ve seen that they are working for each other, fighting for each other, they fight for the coach. That was the feeling I got from outside and now I am here I have the same feeling.”

Van de Sanden returns to Merseyside thankful for her previous time at the club and in the city of Liverpool itself.

“I really love the city. There is so much to do. Even if you just go out for a walk, see so many people,” she added.

“You don’t really have to do anything when you’re tired after training but just to feel the people are around, the noise outside your apartment, it gives me the extra energy I need.

“I’m so thankful to Liverpool because I improved so much here, it was what I needed. I think it was one of the key moments in my career.

“I’ve improved as a person and a player, I’ve won so many trophies since I left and I want to bring my experience into this team. I want to help the girls but I also need their help to get back on my highest level again.”