London City Lionesses have signed Spanish youth international Daniela Arques on a three-year deal, subject to international clearance, from Portuguese side Sporting CP BBC Sport.

Arques is 20 years old and arrives as something close to a proven midfielder. She played 32 games for Sporting in Portugal, becoming a key player in Lisbon. Before that, she came through the youth ranks at Athletic Club de Murcia — her hometown club in south-east Spain — and went on to play top-flight football in Spain for Alhama and Levante BBC Sport.

Her international pedigree is striking. Arques was part of the Spain under-19 squads that won back-to-back European titles in 2024 and 2025, and has since graduated to the under-20 set-up. In other words, she has been winning tournaments for the most dominant youth programme in the women's game, and she is still only 20.

She is the latest Spanish arrival at a club that has made the Iberian peninsula its primary recruiting ground this summer. London City Lionesses — who play at Cobdown Park in Kent — have already signed two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas and ex-Barcelona defender Mapi Leon in this transfer window BBC Sport. Putellas is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of women's football; Leon is a commanding, ball-playing centre-back who spent years at the heart of Barcelona's defence. Adding a 20-year-old with senior international youth medals alongside that calibre of talent tells you where the club are aiming.

The manager behind this recruitment is Eder Maestre, who is Spanish himself BBC Sport. His connections and footballing philosophy clearly shape the identity the club are building — one rooted in the technical, possession-based style that Spain's women's teams have made their own at every age group.

Arques began her career as a child at SMX Athletic Club de Murcia, staying there from 2016 to 2021 before moving into Spain's senior women's top division Sporting CP. Born on March 21, 2006, she stands at 1.69 metres and grew up in Murcia, a region with a growing reputation for producing women's football talent.

Sporting CP officially announced her arrival in Lisbon on July 9, 2025 Sporting CP. A year later, she is heading to England — and into a London City Lionesses project that has become one of the most talked-about rebuilds in the women's game this summer.

For fans of women's football in England, the appeal is simple. A club outside the traditional top-tier power structure is bringing in World Cup winners and European champions. Whether that translates into results on the pitch is a question for the season ahead. But on paper, London City Lionesses are assembling a squad that turns heads.