Analysis: Tarciane sale is another offseason win for Houston Dash
The highly talented 21-year-old Brazilian has signed with Lyon, but it's not time to panic.

I am no business person. But, if you can double your money in less than a year, you might be doing something right.
And, that's exactly what the Houston Dash have been able to do in a short space of time.
On Sunday, Tarciane officially joined Olympique Lyon from the Dash. Signing a new contract with Lyon through June 2029, the transfer comes just 285 days after the Brazilian centre-back joined Houston from Corinthians for $485,000.
As reported by Squad Depth earlier this week, the transfer fee to Lyon is understood to be around $830,000 (€800,000) with performance-based add-ons potentially pushing that close to $1 million ((€960,000).
👀🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/ROEp4tw5wj
— OL Féminin (@OLfeminin) February 2, 2025
This likely makes the move one of the most expensive in the history of women's football, estimated around third after Naomi Girma to Chelsea ($1.1m) and Rachael Kundananji to Bay FC ($865,000).
Sources: Lyon is finalizing a deal for Houston Dash defender Tarciane for a transfer fee of around $830,000 + performance-based add-ons potentially bringing it close to $1m. It's set to be one of the biggest transfers in #NWSL history. Full story ⤵️ www.squaddepth.com/lyon-agrees-...
— Theo Lloyd-Hughes (@theolloydhughes.bsky.social) 2025-01-29T15:33:28.879Z
Head coaches, general managers, fans, media, your local barista, will all tell that you want to hold onto your best players. After all, football clubs in the top leagues around the world desire to have the best possible squads.
However, there is always nuance and balance in a squad. Sometimes, a player and a club's compatibility might come down to timing. The Dash and Tarciane are just not the right fit.
At 21-years-old, Tarciane is not the finished article. She has all the tools to be one of the best players in the world but she's not quite there yet. Her fragmented first year in the NWSL showed flashes of brilliance but not a fully realized elite centre-back.
If Tarciane's development is the most the important thing right now, then it's probably not the opportune moment to be with a club trying to discover its identity and standards.
First-time head coach Fabrice Gautraut has a lot of foundations to put in place in Houston. He himself has to learn how to be a head coach too.
Tarciane moving to an established giant, in Lyon, with built-in infrastructure and a more experienced coaching staff under Joe Montemurro, is likely the best thing for the player.
The Dash has to figure out how to stabilize after a chaotic last-place finish in 2024. Gautraut and Houston are building a new brand of football, a new identity, and establishing a new standard. It does not feel like this club is ready to be developing a young Ballon D'Or nominee.
In 2024, we saw what happened when the Orlando Pride added a star in Barbra Banda. But the foundation of that squad was built by head coach Seb Hines and general manager Haley Carter over roughly 18 months. Houston needs more time.

With this transfer win, more investment can be made across Houston's squad rather than into one star. Tarciane was also one of the highest earners at the club, now there will be more space on the $3.3 million salary cap.
General manager Angela Hucles Mangano deserves credit for reading the market and holding firm on a big price for Tarciane.
"It's an evolving roster," Hucles Mangano said two weeks ago at her introductory press conference. "The game itself is evolving, so to be able to have a roster that really matches that adaptability, allowing Fabrice [Gautraut] to be flexible and having versatility within the roster has been something that we've really been homing in on for roster selections in some of these final pieces."
There has been a lot to like this offseason in Houston. The arrivals of seasoned veterans Dani Colaprico and Christen Westphal alongside the high-performing Yazmeen Ryan, and Delanie Sheehan, who are approaching their peak, unequivocally make this squad better.
“While it is difficult to part ways with a player of Tarci’s caliber, we are excited about the new options we can explore to reinforce the roster for the upcoming season and beyond. Our goal is to make Houston a sustainable and consistent contender in the NWSL. We stayed true to that as we moved forward with this decision that was beneficial for all parties," said Hucles Mangano on Sunday.
Where does this leave the Dash's squad?
It sounds odd, for a player of her ability, but Tarciane's exit doesn't even really hurt Houston that much in the short term.
Right now, the most likely starting centre-back pair for Houston is Paige Nielsen and Natalie Jacobs.
Dash centre-back options: Games/Mins in 2024 (contract)
Paige Nielsen – 21 / 1,889 (2028)
Natalie Jacobs – 16 / 1,283 (2028)
Katie Lind – 0 / 0* / (2025)
Jyllissa Harris – 11 / 804 (2026)
Zoe Matthews – 2 / 16 (2026)
*maternity leave
Statistically, when compared to Tarciane, the drop off from the Dash top two centre-backs from 2024 isn't really drastic at all. Yes, Tarciane has a higher ceiling, but she hasn't yet been able to truly show it with the Dash.


There's also Katie Lind who is going to be reintegrated back into the squad after maternity leave in 2024. From 2020 to 2023, Lind was one of the Dash's most reliable players and a hugely important leadership figure.
When it comes to depth and pathways for younger players at the centre-back role, 24-year-old Jyllissa Harris is improving after a quiet start to life in the NWSL. Gautraut is also looking to experiment with 17-year-old prospect midfielder Zoe Matthews taking some minutes in defence during the pre-season.
If there was anywhere on the roster the Dash could invest it is in youth. In 2024, Houston had the oldest squad in the NWSL with an average age of 27.8 (weighted by minutes played). The Tarciane money will likely need to be spent on young players.
With Tarciane departed, Houston's current squad list (excluding pre-season trialists) sits at 27. An active NWSL roster needs to be 26, although there is wiggle room at the moment for players like Diana Ordonez and Kiki Van Zanten, who do not count as "active" due to injury, and Lind, due to maternity leave.
Ramona Bachmann is yet to report to Houston for pre-season and could be another player the Dash look to part ways with, which would then even out their active squad number with over a month to go before the season starts.
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