Mary Earps is known for her straight-talking nature, whether that is shouting, “F*** off!” after saving Jenni Hermoso’s penalty in the World Cup final against Spain or holding Nike to account for not selling the women’s England goalkeeper shirt, forcing them into a U-turn.
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The England and Manchester United No 1 is usually happy to communicate her feelings but has, so far, remained quiet about her future. However, according to The Athletic’s sources — who wish to remain anonymous to protect their position — all signs point to Earps wanting to leave United. That sentiment was supported when, at the club’s World Cup welcome home ceremony at their Carrington training ground, it appeared to some of those present she did not want to be there, head down, cutting an isolated figure.
Earps has stayed quiet over her future (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
With a week to go until the transfer window deadline closes on September 14, the 30-year-old faces a big dilemma. Last week, Women’s Super League rivals Arsenal submitted a bid, reportedly significantly higher than the record for a women’s goalkeeper, which stands at £100,000 —the caveat being there is not a long history of large bids for that position in the women’s game. Manchester United’s reply: not for sale.
You can understand why. Earps is United’s prize asset — the FIFA Best goalkeeper was instrumental in last season’s second-place (and highest-ever) WSL finish and Champions League qualification. Earps won the WSL’s Golden Glove ahead of Arsenal’s Manuela Zinsberger, keeping 14 clean sheets, becoming the first WSL goalkeeper to keep 50 clean sheets across the league.
And yet, the club have been in talks about negotiating a new deal for their No 1 since she won the European Championship with England last summer.
Earps’ contract was due to expire at the end of June and United triggered an option to extend her deal by one year. The club’s priority is to extend beyond next summer but the two parties are yet to come to an agreement.
Earps with the Golden Glove award at the World Cup (Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Put simply, a player either wants to sign a contract or leave. Given Earps has not signed a new deal in 12 months, the writing is on the wall. By contrast, midfielder Ella Toone — whose deal was also set to expire in June — signed a three-and-a-half-year contract in November.
Ultimately, however, it is out of Earps’ gloved hands for now. If United remain resolute and refuse to sell Earps, they risk going against her will. In terms of the squad environment, it is far from ideal to have one of your best players and most vocal leaders wishing they were elsewhere, with Earps understandably left with a lingering sense that the grass looks greener down south.
United have boosted their ranks with the arrival of Brazil international Geyse and World Cup Golden Boot winner, Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa but Arsenal have had a strong summer of recruitment too, securing World Cup stars Cloe Lacasse of Canada, Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt and Laia Codina, a member of Spain’s World Cup-winning side. If there are opportunities for Arsenal to strengthen, they will take them. With Beth Mead returning to the bench last night for Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Linkoping in their first Champions League game of the season, this is a squad with serious ambitions and expectations to fulfil.
Arsenal were always likely to be in the conversation for Earps but it seems unlikely the deal will happen in this transfer window. The north London side are not pushing as hard as they did for their forward Alessia Russo.
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Despite reports suggesting otherwise, no second bid was made for Earps and that is not expected to change. Arsenal also already have two strong choices in 27-year-old Zinsberger and 30-year-old Canada international goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo. Zinsberger’s contract expires at the end of this season, having extended her deal in March, two months after D’Angelo joined from Swedish club Vittsjo.
If Earps joined Arsenal, she would need to battle it out for the No 1 shirt with Zinsberger, unless head coach Jonas Eidevall offered assurances the starting spot was hers to lose. Austria international Zinsberger has made 63 appearances for the club since joining in 2019.
Earps joined United from Wolfsburg in 2019 (Charlotte Tattersall – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)
If not, Earps risks reducing her game time, which could prove costly given she will want to be part of Team GB’s Olympic squad next summer.
Earps has a lot to weigh up — if she were to play this season for United without renewing her contract with the club, she would put herself in a vulnerable position. What happens if she were to get injured or her performance drops? Her market value would decline significantly, impacting her future livelihood, and where would that leave her?
Earps will be looking at her options and if it is not Arsenal, it will be other clubs next summer. If the Nottingham-born goalkeeper were to move abroad, she could sign a pre-contract agreement as early as January 1 for the summer. If she were to seek a move domestically, she would have to wait until next summer to sign a deal. But it is a risk for the world’s best goalkeeper to leave it that late.
(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
