The top 10 transfers which will define this season

10. Crina Pintea (line player, from Györi Audi ETO KC to CSM Bucuresti)

The experienced line player switched from CSM Bucuresti to Györi Audi ETO KC last summer and will make her comeback to the Romanian powerhouse just after one year spent at the Hungarian champions. Already a winner of the EHF Champions League Women with Györ in 2019, Pintea failed to add to her tally, but will hope to seal the title once again this season.

She is a natural force on the line and fits right in CSM’s plans to improve the defence, as is very difficult to beat due to her towering presence. At 32, Pintea still has some good seasons in her and the natural connection with Cristina Neagu, forged in the national team, will work wonders once again, after producing 78 goals in the past two seasons she spent at CSM.

9. Jamina Roberts (left back, from IK Sävehof to Vipers Kristiansand)

Vipers lost three key backs this summer, as Nora Mørk moved to Team Esbjerg, Isabelle Gulldén chose to play for Lugi HF, and Zsuzsanna Tomori switched to FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria. In comes Roberts, who left Sävehof after her third stint for the Swedish team. However, last season was her best in the EHF Champions League Women, scoring 87 goals, more than in the previous two seasons combined.

Aged 32, Roberts is at the pinnacle of her career, after being selected as the All-star left back at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Swede brings experience, creativity, a good handball IQ and a strong shot to the table, and will be key as Vipers adapt in the first matches of the new season.

8. Laura Glauser (goalkeeper, from Györi Audi ETO KC to CSM Bucuresti)

After Jelena Grubisic’s retirement and Tess Wester leaving the club, CSM Bucuresti had a huge hole between the posts. They acted quickly and snapped up two goalkeepers: Evelina Eriksson from reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand, and Laura Glauser from Györ.

Glauser will play for the fourth club in her star-studded career and joins CSM as the All-star goalkeeper in the EHF Champions League Women last season. This will definitely help the Romanian side, who have struggled with goalkeepers in recent seasons.

7. Jovanka Radicevic (right wing, from Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK to Krim Mercator Ljubljana)

Radicevic is one of the all-time greats in the EHF Champions League Women and needs only 39 goals to leapfrog Anita Gőrbicz as the best scorer in the history of the competition. She has scored at least 60 goals in the European premium competition in each of the past six seasons and will play for the sixth side in her star-studded career.

The Montenegrin right wing will be 36 this October, but still has enough fire in her belly to produce some outstanding games. She was Kastamonu’s top scorer last season, with 86 goals. Krim know what they are getting: a bona-fide star in this position and one of the best penalty takers in the competition.

6. Andrea Lekic (centre back, from Krim Mercator Ljubljana to FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria)

It is the sixth time in the past 11 years that Andrea Lekic has moved teams, but her experience will be vital for FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria. Over the last couple of seasons the club has desperately needed exactly the ingredients which the Serbian centre back will bring to the table, falling short of progressing to the EHF FINAL4 each time.

It is true that Lekic has been marred by injuries in recent years, but she can still score some goals – 46 in the past season for Krim Mercator Ljubljana. However, the main reason for her transfer is to create chances, which she should have plenty of at FTC.

5. Sandra Toft (goalkeeper, from Brest Bretagne Handball to Györi Audi ETO KC)

The Danish goalkeeper was the IHF Female Player of the Year in 2021 and has been one of the most consistent shot stoppers in the past seasons in the EHF Champions League Women, when she played for Brest Bretagne Handball. Toft will celebrate her 33rd birthday in October, and is just the right age for a goalkeeper to start producing vintage games for Györ.

Named the All-star goalkeeper at the EHF EURO 2016, the EHF EURO 2020 and the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, Toft compensates for her 176cm height with dazzling reflexes and a great inspiration for making saves. She is still searching for her first EHF Champions League Women title – could this be her year?

4. Ana Gros (back, from Krim Mercator Ljubljana to Györi Audi ETO KC)

Only eight players have scored more goals in their careers in the EHF Champions League Women than Ana Gros, who now has the chance to move up to sixth place, as the three players in front of her – Eduarda Amorim, Bojana Popovic and Andrea Penezic – have all retired. Gros has 719 goals under her belt, including 239 in the past two seasons for Brest Bretagne Handball, CSKA and Krim Mercator Ljubljana, the highest score of all players in the European top competition.

Joining Györ was a big decision for Gros, who played for the Hungarian champions in two seasons between 2010 and 2012, but failed to make an impact due to her lack of experience. Now, Gros could be the missing piece of the puzzle for Györ to clinch the trophy for the first time since the 2018/19 season.

3. Anna Vyakhireva (right back, from Rostov-Don to Vipers Kristiansand)

This is definitely one of the most interesting moves this summer, but which Vyakhireva will Vipers get? After the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Russian right back announced her temporary retirement, only to come back to handball last spring. Her injury history is definitely one to keep an eye on, especially as the competition progresses and the number of matches played rises.

This will also be the first time Vyakhireva has left her home country to play abroad, but with her amazing handball IQ, she should slot right into Vipers’ team. Another title would be huge for Vipers, which would become the second team in history after Györ to secure three titles in a row, but also for Vyakhireva, who played in the final only once, in the 2018/19 season, losing to Györ.

2. Grace Zaadi (centre back, from Metz Handball to CSM Bucuresti)

A European, world and Olympic champion, Zaadi had her share of success with the France women’s national team in the past, but failed to replicate it at club level, where she only got as far as the EHF FINAL4 with Metz Handball. Losing the semi-finals twice, Zaadi opted to continue her career at CSM Bucuresti, her second stint outside France, where she will link up with Cristina Neagu and a plethora of other experienced stars.

Zaadi, the All-star centre back at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and at the 2017 and 2021 IHF Women’s World Championships, is an outstanding player. She can unlock a defence with a pass or by breaking through. Her ability to score only adds another layer to her amazing game, and she netted 91 goals in the previous season. Zaadi is also a great penalty taker, with a strong conversion percentage. There is little not to like about her, especially as she does a good job on defence. CSM have really pulled off a coup by signing Zaadi this summer.

1. Nora Mørk (right back, from Vipers Kristiansand to Team Esbjerg)

The story of Mørk’s comeback to top-flight handball is already well known, as the right back had nine knee surgeries to get back to her best. She has missed whole chunks of seasons due to injuries, but was crucial to Vipers’ challenge for the trophy in the past two years. Her personal tally of EHF Champions League Women titles is now six, a record.

Mørk is ranked 10th in the all-time top scorers list with 711 goals, 179 of which came in the past two seasons. She scored at least 70 goals in each of six seasons in the EHF Champions League Women. Therefore, Esbjerg really outdid themselves in making sure that Mørk will play for them this year.

The Danish side has two strong Norwegian backs in Reistad and Mørk, who will form an instant connection. In fact, the Danish side have seven Norwegian players in their roster, which will help Mørk settle easier. If she is injury-free in the next months, Mørk could help Esbjerg challenge for the title once again.