Super Seven – the top transfers in the EHF Champions League Women

Some are just trying to fill the gaps in their team, after other players left for pastures new. Nevertheless, the summer is always a moment for jaw-dropping transfers, for teams to try and seduce top players about their projects and to strengthen their squad for another exciting season ahead.

This summer also brought plenty of transfers for the 16 teams in the EHF Champions League Women 2023/24, and we are looking with a fine-tooth comb through the most important moves, analysing their impact for the new season, in no particular order.

Ready for some transfer news? Let’s go.

Bruna de Paula Almeida (Metz Handball to Györi Audi ETO KC)

The 26-year-old centre back spent the last seven years in France, featuring for Fleury Loiret, Les Neptunes des Nantes and Metz Handball. She was the MVP of the inaugural EHF Finals Women in 2021 and became Metz’s captain, scoring 52 goals in the first season and 86 goals in the second season in the EHF Champions League Women.

But with the Brazilian centre back, it is not about the goals, it is about her excellent physical qualities and the way she is able to leave defences emptyhanded whenever she turns on the engine and accelerates.

It was basically a captain swap between Györi Audi ETO KC and Metz Handball, with Anne Mette Hansen moving in the opposite direction. The most decorated team in the European premium competition has just bolstered their back line with yet another proven competitor and an excellent player, brimming with potential and entering her prime.

Anne Mette Hansen (Györi Audi ETO KC to Metz Handball)

The Danish left back was one of the longest-serving players for Györ, as she ended a six-year stint this summer and signed for Metz Handball. Hansen might not be a natural-born scorer, boasting a 233-goal tally in those six years, but she compensates through an excellent defensive nous and great leadership skills, being, at times, the fulcrum of the Hungarian powerhouse’s defence in the past years.

Metz will be getting a 28-year-old player who is ready to slot in immediately in any system designed by coach Emmanuel Mayonnade, a player who was the EHF Champions League All-star left back in 2019, and, more importantly, a player who can shine on both sides of the ball and coagulate the teammates alongside an idea. Hansen can really be the missing piece of the puzzle for Metz.

Vilde Ingstad (Team Esbjerg to CSM Bucuresti)

At the inaugural EHF Excellence Awards in June, Vilde Ingstad received the award for the best line player of the 2022/23 season, the best season in her career both with her club – Team Esbjerg – and with the national team of Norway. In the EHF Champions League Women, Ingstad has scored 78 goals, more than in the previous two seasons combined – 65 goals – becoming a key ingredient of Esbjerg’s back-to-back appearances at the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest.

For Norway, Ingstad secured her second gold medal at the EHF EURO and her fifth medal overall from a major international tournament, being a key player both on attack and in defence, continuing the excellent lineage of line players for Norway. CSM Bucuresti will be getting the full package, with Ingstad entering her best years at 28, and will have a strong pair of line players in Ingstad and Crina Pintea.

Markéta Jeřábková (Vipers Kristiansand to Ikast Handbold)

Jeřábková has been a breath of fresh air for Vipers and one of the main reasons the Norwegian powerhouse secured the last two titles in the EHF Champions League Women. The Czech left back had her breakout season in 2021/22, when she scored 74 goals for Vipers and became the MVP of the EHF FINAL4. She doubled down last season with 118 goals, being the second-best scorer in the competition.

At the Norwegian side, she was surrounded by excellent players, but now she will be the undoubted leader at Ikast Handbold. The Danish winners of the EHF European League last season return to the European premium competition. The stakes are higher, the pressure will be immense for Jeřábková, but the 27-year-old star is ready to shine for her new side.

Lois Abbingh (Odense Håndbold to Vipers Kristiansand)

Abbingh will replace Jeřábková in the reigning champions’ team, as Vipers aim to make history by winning the EHF Champions League Women for the fourth time in a row. The Dutch left back is undoubtedly bringing a lot of experience to the table, as she is ready to start her eighth season in the European premium competition, having played for HCM Baia Mare, Rostov-Don and Odense before signing for Vipers.

The Norwegian side, who will have a new coach at the helm, Tomas Hlavaty, prepares for a challenging season, but will hope that the experience and nous brought by Abbingh will be enough, as the Dutch back has previously scored 328 goals in her past seven seasons in the European top competition. Getting back into shape after an injury and giving birth was definitely a challenge for the left back, but Abbingh confirmed her credentials for Odense in the second part of last season and looks ready to rumble.

Laura Flippes (Paris 92 to CSM Bucuresti)

Since leaving Metz Handball in 2020, Flippes did not play in the EHF Champions League and also transitioned from her usual right wing position to right back, where CSM Bucuresti were definitely feeling the heat last season. In fact, the Romanian champions did not have any experienced left-handed player on the right back position and they have brought two players in that role now: Flippes and Brest’s Monika Kobylinska.

Flippes is not the type of players that will catch your eye from the first game, but her defensive nous – forged in the French league, where she played throughout her whole career – is next to none and will surely help CSM get better and better, slotting in exactly in a position where the Romanian side needed experience the most.

Alina Grijseels (BV Borussia 09 Dortmund to Metz Handball)

Grijseels is a superb centre back, a dual-threat player which can create opportunities for her teammates and score goals. In fact, in the 2021/22 season, before suffering an arm injury, Grijseels was the top scorer of the EHF Champions League Women, finishing the season with 84 goals. After nine years at BV Borussia 09 Dortmund, Grijseels felt like it was time for a new challenge and Metz might just be the right place to flourish.

The German Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022, Grijseels looks like a great fit for Metz, especially as the French side needed a centre back to replace Bruna de Paula Almeida. Grijseels is a player in a different mould, but can surely take over and become Metz’s top scorer this season, especially in that free-flowing attack for the French side.

photo Alina Grijseels © 2023 Cedosa/Metz Handball