Matildas star Ellie Carpenter set for Chelsea reunion alongside new wife Danielle van de Donk's London switch
The 25-year-old joined French giants Lyon in 2020 but is set to be lured to England by none other than Australian teammate Sam Kerr's six-time defending champions Chelsea.
Carpenter, who was under contract with Lyon for 2026, will depart the club just weeks after their Australian coach Joe Montemurro left to lead the Matildas.
Carpenter will reportedly sign a three-year deal with Chelsea as part of an informal swap deal that has sent Canadian Ashley Lawrence, who previously played in France for Paris Saint-Germain, to Lyon.
As well as teaming up with Kerr on the field, Carpenter will also be coached once again by her former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor.
Bompastor joined Chelsea last year after leading Carpenter and Lyon to three straight league titles while they also won the 2022 Champions League and made the 2024 final.
Carpenter's move ensures she will be rivals, rather than teammates, with her new wife Danielle van de Donk.
The pair met when the Netherlands international star joined Lyon in 2021 and married last month in France.
Just days after the wedding it was announced van de Donk had signed with the London City Lionesses for their first season in the top-flight Women's Super League.
Lyon and the Lionesses, who are not affiliated with an English Premier League club, share the same owner.
The announcement appeared to telegraph Carpenter's switch to England with Chelsea, which had already been floated as a rumour.
Van de Donk's move to London will be a homecoming of sorts after she spent six years in the English capital with Arsenal prior to joining Lyon.
Carpenter, meanwhile, will have at least one season alongside Kerr at Chelsea.
Kerr has not played a match at any level since suffering an ACL tear in January 2024, with her time out extended by a mystery second round of surgery.
She has one more season left on her contract with Chelsea and it remains uncertain how she will fit into Bompastor's plans after being sidelined for so long.
But the star striker is firmly on the comeback trail and has attended two recent Matildas camps as a train-on player.
Carpenter said it was a boost to have Kerr around the squad.
'She's a massive player, also a massive character for the team,' the fill-in skipper said late last month.
'She's been absent from the team for a while, so it's nice to have her training individually, and hopefully, soon she can be back with us.'
Montemurro tapped Carpenter to lead the Matildas in their two matches against Slovenia over the past week, a 3-0 win and 1-1 draw.
But she was among several players to depart camp ahead of matches against Panama over the next week.
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