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Ella Toone has said she will have to decide “what’s best for me” as she weighs up her long-term future with one year remaining on her Manchester United contract.
The England midfielder, speaking before Friday’s crucial Women’s World Cup qualifier in Spain, was asked about her club future and implied she would hold discussions with United this summer.
“I have a year left,” she said. “Obviously it’s now time to talk. I just know I have got to make a decision on what’s best for me. I’m at England right now and focusing on two big games coming up – Spain and Ukraine. Then I’ve got a summer off; I’m getting married and going on a hen do. I’m going to enjoy these things. And then I’m going to get my head screwed on, work hard in pre-season and go from there. Right now, I’m a Manchester United player.”
Toone has played for United for eight years and is a lifelong fan. This season the club finished fourth in the Women’s Super League, outside the European places, and reached the League Cup final and the Champions League quarter-finals. Reflecting on their campaign, she said: “We had a very good run in the Champions League, for our first time being in it as well. We should be really proud of how far we went in that competition. Then on the other side, we want to be winning trophies, we want to be competing for the league, and I feel like there were parts of this season where we dropped points that we probably shouldn’t have, so there’s a lot to work on.”
The 26-year-old is thrilled to be back to match fitness and back in the England squad, after missing the previous two international camps because of a stress fracture in a hip. The two-time European Championship winner has not played for her country since November because of the injury and missed all of United’s January, February and March fixtures before returning to the squad for the draw with Tottenham on 26 April.
She said her time on the sidelines had been tough. “I’ve driven my family up the wall with not being able to play for such a long time,” she said, adding that lessons had been learned.
“I’m not 18 any more and my body has been through a lot and has been through a lot of games and tournaments every other summer,” she said. “There were loads of games this season with Manchester United as we were in the Champions League for the first time. I don’t think we’ve ever played that many games in a season before. I’ve definitely learned this time around that I have to look after my body much better than I have been doing over previous years.”
A draw or win against Spain in Mallorca would guarantee England qualification for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil but defeat could leave them facing a lengthy playoff process this year.
