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.