REPORT: CanWNT forward Cloé Lacasse set to join Arsenal on "record deal" from Benfica
After a dominant 2022-2023 season in Portugal for Benfica, Cloé Lacasse looks set to join English giants Arsenal, as per multiple reports out of Portugal.
First, it was reported by Renascença earlier this week that Arsenal had sent a "record offer" for a Portuguese league player to sign Lacasse, due to her having a year remaining on her contract.
Then, on Friday, it was reported by Abola that the deal had advanced significantly throughout the week, stating that the move could be announced at any moment now.
For Lacasse, it'd be a huge transfer, as she's coming off a fantastic season for Benfica, too.
A season in which they won three trophies, as they won the Campeonato Nacional Feminino, the Taça da Liga and the Supertaça, it was almost a perfect campaign domestically if not for a slip-up in the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal. Along with a foray into the group stages of the Champions League, where they were drawn with eventual champions Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it was overall a pretty successful season for the Portuguese giants.
Lacasse played a key role in those successes, as well, finishing with a whopping 35 goals and 18 assists in all competitions, including an impressive seven goals and two assists in the Champions League. As a result, she was named the MVP of the Portuguese league, a fair reward for her accomplishments.
Cloé Lacasse was on fire today🔥
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 16, 2023
It was a casual 2G/2A day for Lacasse with Benfica, including this mazy beauty of a goal and finish, as they inch towards another title
She’s now got 31 goals in all competitions 😵💫#CanWNT/#CanXNT
🎥@BenficaFempic.twitter.com/AqLKa4q22E
Now, however, she appears ready to seek out her next challenge at the club level with Arsenal. After four years with Benfica, where she scored over 100 goals and won eight trophies, she'd certainly accomplished nearly everything that she would've wanted to in Portugal.
Still in her prime and set to turn 30 this summer, no better time for a move, which is why it'll be fascinating to see how she performs at Arsenal.
Fresh off a solid season domestically, as they finished third in the league, made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League and won the League Cup, they're looking to reinforce their squad ahead of a big push to hit another level in 2023-2024.
In particular, they're looking for more goals, and in Lacasse they've found someone who can help them in that quest, given that she's able to play both out wide and up front as a forward, and is able to create for others and score herself.
Plus, Lacasse won't be in completely unfamiliar territory at Arsenal, as they've also got fellow Canadian international Sabrina D'Angelo as one of their goalkeepers, having signed her just this winter.
Before Lasasse makes her debut for Arsenal, however, she's got a big summer ahead, as she and Canada are getting set to head down to Australia for the World Cup next month, set to leave next week to begin preparations.
Boosted by this news, she'll look to have a big tournament for Canada, in what will be her first major tournament with her country, as she helps her side as they try to win their first-ever World Cup, sitting as one of the favourites to do so as the defending Olympic gold medallists. 
