The Portland Thorns' long rumored signing has been unmasked by the Oregonian's Jamie Goldberg as Equatorial Guinea striker Genoveva Añonma. One of the current leading scorers of the German Bundisliga, Añonma has put away eight goals this season for Turbine Potsdam bringing her overall tally to 58 goals in 72 appearances for the club.
The addition of Añonma, 25, give the Thorns a top-class striker who will be on hand during the 2015 Women's World Cup: a precious commodity for a side that will be losing a significant part of its roster to international call-ups.
With Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair, Jodie Taylor, Tobin Heath, Veronica Boquete, Kayln Kyle, Stephanie Catley, Rachael Van Hollebeke, and Nadine Angerer among those on the Thorns' nominal roster set to miss time for the upcoming World Cup, Añonma will be a big addition for what will be an extremely depleted side.
The long Thorns offseason, characterized by long stretches of silence and brief bouts of activity, is almost over and the team is set to start their preseason in the second week of March.
The addition of Añonma brings the team somewhat closer to being fully functional for the first half of the season, of which a number of the players listed above will miss large stretches. Without further changes to the roster, however, her addition also creates a significant log-jam for the second half of the season when the Thorns' internationals return.