Why would Mary Earps want to stay at Man Utd? Lionesses star not the only one who needs to know Red Devils are moving in right direction

After battling Chelsea until the final day for the Women's Super League title last year, the club looks so far off the 'big three' right now

It’s March and Manchester United’s women’s team have very little to play for. The Women’s Super League title race got away from them some time ago, a Champions League place looks near-impossible to secure, their debut European campaign ended in the qualifying rounds and they’re out of the Continental Cup, too. With only the FA Cup remaining, and the semi-final draw giving them a very tough clash with Chelsea, some fans are already looking ahead to next season.

One of the biggest questions as that 2024-25 campaign looms is who will still be at the club. Head coach Marc Skinner has a deal that expires this summer and so do many of his players, none more significant than Mary Earps, England’s No.1 goalkeeper. The 30-year-old was subject of heavy interest from Arsenal last summer as she entered the final year of her contract, and the Gunners have been mentioned again throughout this season, along with looser links to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

However, reports have also suggested that Earps is open to staying at United. But as an extremely disappointing season for the club prepares to conclude, could the Red Devils really be capable of keeping her?

GettyHuge disappointment

It's difficult to sugar-coat what a disappointing season this has been for United. It was always going to be tough to follow up last year’s successes, as the Red Devils proved to be Chelsea’s closest rivals for the title, reached a first Women’s FA Cup final and qualified for the Women’s Champions League for the first time. But they have been so far off the WSL’s ‘big three’ this campaign.

With six league games to go, they are six points off the European spots, having failed to win as many games as they’ve emerged victorious from. Points dropped from winning positions against West Ham, Liverpool and, most painfully, Manchester City at Old Trafford are just some of the poor results that have contributed to this underwhelming campaign.

AdvertisementGettySummer of change?

It means that Skinner’s future at the club is well in question as the end of his contract approaches, and he is not the only one who could move on. Captain Katie Zelem and forwards Lucia Garcia, Nikita Parris and Rachel Williams are all also set to become free agents, alongside Earps. With uncertainty on who the coach will be next season, perhaps it’s not a surprise that this is the case, but it underlines the team’s disorganisation.

It could well be a summer of mass change then, which is hardly conducive with the idea of the Red Devils bouncing back from this season and attacking the new one with conviction. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that is off-putting for some, and given Earps’ only major honours at club level came when she was No.2 at Wolfsburg, the potential of a transition period or rebuilding phase could well be a reason for her to leave, too, especially as she prepares to enter her prime years.

Getty ImagesOne of the best

After all, we are talking about a goalkeeper who has spent the last few years proving herself as one of the world’s very best. Indeed, FIFA has twice crowned her The Best at its annual awards, with England Player of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year and the World Cup Golden Glove among the plethora of individual awards bestowed upon her in that time.

At 30 years old, this could be one of Earps' last chances to join a club that can compete for the top honours and grant her action in the Champions League, a competition she still has so little experience of despite her quality and the point she is at in her career.

GettyRumours galore

What are her options, then? With goalkeepers, these things can sometimes need that first domino to fall, one shot-stopper to switch and that club to need a replacement, prompting mass movement in the position. Given there are so many goalkeepers out of contract this summer – Man City’s Ellie Roebuck, Australia star Mackenzie Arnold and Barcelona veteran Sandra Panos among them – we could well get a bit of a merry-go-round situation.

Arsenal have been long-time pursuers of Earps and recent links to Aston Villa’s Daphne van Domselaar may well just be them exploring other options if they do not get the England No.1, rather than them moving on from her as a target. As for the rumours around Barca and PSG, it’s uncertain how significant they are in comparison, especially given the Catalans have been strongly-linked with Roebuck and the French giants have limited non-EU spots in their squad.

This is one of the best goalkeepers in the world available on a free transfer. Of course there is interest. But there is certainly no move that is all-but-done, and while that is the case, United will always have some chance of keeping her.