Lily Yohannes is leaving Ajax Women with immediate effect, she announced on Instagram on Monday. The eighteen-year-old top talent will continue her career at the French top club Olympique Lyonnais, where she has signed for three years.
“After five years in red and white, it’s time to leave this beautiful club Ajax,” Yohannes writes. “I am incredibly proud to have worn the Ajax shirt and to have grown here as a player and a person.”
“Coming into the academy as a little girl, all the way to the first team, the club I can always call home. Although it is incredibly difficult to say goodbye, one thing is certain: Ajax will always have a special place in my heart.”
Yohannes joined Ajax at the age of thirteen, three years after emigrating to the Netherlands due to her father’s work. At the age of sixteen, the midfielder made her debut in the Women’s Eredivisie.
Yohannes made an impression at Ajax and was soon linked with the Orange squad. Last year, she nevertheless opted for an international career with four-time world champion United States. She now has eight international matches to her name.
Many mutations at Ajax Women
Yohannes had been linked with Olympique Lyonnais for some time. She will become a teammate of Orange international Damaris Egurrola, who has played for Lyon since 2021. With Orange, Egurrola is currently on the bench at the European Championship in Switzerland.
Yohannes, who was born in Virginia in the United States, is one of the many players who are leaving Ajax Women this summer, which is undergoing a significant transformation. Trainer Hesterine de Reus is succeeded by 31-year-old Anouk Bruil.
Ajax also signed a big name in Joëlle Smits. The eight-time Orange international is transferring from PSV, which finished second in the Eredivisie last season. Ajax finished third and FC Twente won the national title.