In a year which has already seen the 21-year-old enjoy breakthroughs with Tottenham and England, she’s now taking the WSL by storm with the Red Devils
When Grace Clinton faced the media this summer, ahead of her first Women’s Super League season with Manchester United, she was under no illusions with regards to the pressure that was going to be on her at the club, after a breakthrough loan spell at Tottenham and an electric start to her England career. But the way she’s been playing in this campaign, it’s as if she doesn’t feel the weight of expectation whatsoever.
The message from United boss Marc Skinner was not to change anything from the season she had just spent at Spurs, which earned Clinton her Lionesses debut and the PFA Women's Young Player of the Year award. “Marc has reassured me, saying, ‘Don't come in and feel like you have to prove anything, just come in and settle in and just keep enjoying it’,” she explained. “He's just [giving me] the same messages that I had at Tottenham, which is really nice for me to hear.”
Fitting with that consistent message is the consistency of performance from Clinton, though it’s actually easy to argue that her level has even gone up this year from the last. Perhaps that’s no surprise, given the experiences she has accumulated in such a short time, and if she can continue in this vein, with the European Championship right around the corner, she’s going to get the opportunity to shine on even bigger stages.
Getty ImagesStar of the show
It's not a stretch to say that Clinton has been one of the very best players in the WSL this season. That’s particularly impressive given she’s essentially a new signing, someone who had hardly played with most of her new team-mates before, nor in Skinner’s side. This is a United team in a little bit of transition, too. It wasn’t set up for her to just slot in and perform.
There are also greater expectations with the Red Devils. “I think with Spurs, as long as we'd made progress from the year before, nearly getting relegated… They were in completely different places,” Clinton acknowledged before the season. “We had the ability and the freedom to try and work on us as a team and how we play. But at United, you can work on how you play as a team, but you need to get the results at the same time. I think that's more of the difference for me.”
However, that’s just another obstacle she’s overcome. Armed with a little more confidence as a result of that Spurs spell, Clinton feels in a better play to “express” herself – and it certainly shows.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMaking her mark
After marking her United debut with a goal, in a 3-0 opening-weekend win over West Ham, Clinton hasn’t looked back. A remarkably composed finish gave the Red Devils a 1-0 win over Everton the next week. and then she went into the first international break of the season with a third, after scoring in a 1-1 draw with surprise package Brighton.
Those three goals make her United’s joint-top goal-scorer in the WSL this term, alongside new No.9 Elisabeth Terland, and it’s not the only column in which her stats rank among the very best in the squad. No United player has created more chances in the league this season, with Clinton not struggling to get involved in games at all. Only the centre-back pairing of Maya Le Tissier and Millie Turner have had more touches.
Terland is the sole player with more shots, shots on target and touches in the opposition's box, and only full-back Jayde Riviere has won more fouls. When it comes to dribbles completed, Clinton is also joint-top of those charts. In essence, she’s at the heart of all the good stuff her team are doing in attack.
GettyGrowing partnership
Ahead of the season, there were some concerns that this wouldn’t be the case, because there were questions about how Clinton and Ella Toone, another creative playmaker, would fit into the same team. However, after starting the season with the somewhat questionable choice to play Toone in a wider role, Skinner has settled into playing her more central and Clinton more towards the wings in recent weeks, that a position she is familiar with from her time at Tottenham.
It's something that has certainly pleased Clinton, as she has repeatedly spoken about how much she enjoys playing with Toone. It’s something they’ve done for England, albeit with the 21-year-old in a slightly deeper role which doesn’t always emphasise her best qualities.
The bad news is that Toone is feared to be out injured for the rest of 2024, so this growing partnership is on pause for the time being. The good news, however, is that the two have shown glimpses of being able to work well together already, and they’ll hope to continue that in the New Year.
Getty ImagesAll-rounder
But it’s not just about what Clinton does well in attack, as she’s also a real asset defensively. Be it as a box-to-box midfielder or a hard-working wide player, she is always keen to honour her defensive duties, something that will always curry favour with coaches and team-mates alike.
No player has won more tackles in the United team this season than Clinton, which underlines how willing she is to get stuck in, be it with her high press or tracking back.
“I do love being able to just go up and down the pitch, being able to defend and put them tackles in and do that for the team, but then being able to stay in those pockets and create,” Clinton said earlier this year, discussing her preferred position and highlighting the defensive aspects of midfield as a reason for it being her favourite.
