Houston Dash sign Ireland player Denise O'Sullivan

News broke this morning as the Houston Dash signed 22-year-old Irish forward Denise O’Sullivan after reaching an agreement with 10-time Scottish Women’s Premeir League (SWPL) champions Glasgow City FC for the transfer. O’Sullivan will be leaving the SWPL and joining the NWSL once her International Transfer Certificate and P1-Visa have been approved.

O’Sullivan debuted for her country’s senior national team at the age of 17 and scored two goals in a 2-0 win over Wales during EURO 2013. For Ireland, O’Sullivan has earned 46 caps and scored 8 total goals. In 2013, Glasgow City FC brought her aboard where she has become quite the fan favorite and an ultimate trailblazer for the team. The forward has eight trophies with the club and has scored 33 times in 65 stars for Glasgow City- 10 of those goals were scored in 24 games of the 2015 season where she played a major part in winning the SWPL title and SWPL Cup.

Because Ireland isn’t participating in the summer Olympics later this year, head coach Randy Waldrum expects to have O’Sullivan for the entirety of the season. Initially, Waldrum was scouting her Ireland teammate Stephanie Roche in anticipation of signing an aggressive athlete who could fill pretty big shoes while the international call-ups were away, but O’Sullivan caught his eye. "I received film on a different player and I actually liked Denise more than anyone else," Waldrum said via team release. "[Her international experience] will be cruicial when we lose our national team players to training camps and the Olympic Games later this year." Waldrum has kept his eye on O’Sullivan for a little over a year, but her contract with Glasgow City was fresh and the Club wasn’t looking for a deal, but now at the end of her contract, Waldrum made it a point to make it clear that he wanted the much coveted athlete who had offers from some of the top European teams to include a rumored interests from Chelsea L.F.C.

Both Coach Waldrum and O'Sullivan are ready to get rolling:

@CoachWaldrum @HoustonDash thanks randy can't wait to get started

— Denise O'Sullivan (@OSullivanDenise) March 19, 2016

Glasgow City FC manager, Laura Montgomery said in an interview, "We thought we could help her develop into a real top player and not only has she not disappointed, she has probably surpassed our expectations. Her commitment, work rate, and dedication to improve is unparalleled. At only 22 years old she will only get better and better."

O’Sullivan will join the team next to World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd and likely learn a lot from the veteran player throughout her career. With the international call-ups mixed with injuries, and new faces O’Sullivan will be an incredible and talented addition to the roster from the moment she steps on the pitch.

Check out Denise O'Sullivan's interview with Glasgow City FC on her move to the Houston Dash below: