After scoring on her Manchester United debut at Old Trafford, it is clear that Clinton is set for a season to remember as a red, after some invaluable loan spells since joining the club in July 2022.
Signing from Everton in 2022, Clinton first enjoyed a loan spell in the Women’s Championship with Bristol City from January 2023 until the end of the 2022/2023 campaign. She quickly made her mark within the side, scoring a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory over Coventry United on her debut.
Providing her with regular minutes in the second tier, she made a total of 12 league appearances for Bristol City, scoring 6 goals and her success helped the side gain promotion back to the top tier.
In the 2023/24 season, Clinton showcased her talent on another loan spell, this time for fellow Women’s Super League side Tottenham Hotspur.
In 20 league appearances for the side, she scored 4 goals for Spurs, assisted a further 4, and helped the side reach the Women’s FA Cup Final, a huge achievement despite being unable to play against Manchester United at Wembley in May.
To further highlight a very successful WSL campaign for the 21-year-old, she was voted PFA Young Player of the Year ahead of nominees including Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park, Lauren James, Khiara Keating, and Aggie Beever-Jones.
She also earned her maiden call-up for England in 2024 and scored her first international goal in England’s 7-2 victory against Austria back in February.
After an impressive 2023/24 campaign in both domestic and international football, Clinton headed a Naalsund ball into the bottom corner in the 53rd minute to score on her Manchester United debut against West Ham on the opening weekend of the WSL.
The influence that she has on the game, evident from her time at Spurs, has fueled her drive not only to help United improve from their 5th-placed finish last campaign but also to gain regular minutes within the Manchester United midfield to impress Sarina Wiegman ahead of the 2025 Women’s Euro.
Her first outing at Old Trafford goes a long way in showing how she fits into the United midfield and is a promising statement of not only how she will be able to influence the side to the same standard that she did under Robert Vilahamn, but also as to how she will progress with the team as the season continues.
The confidence and ease that she played with at Spurs, and has started the season with at Old Trafford, is also a testament to how she will fare against some of the league’s more dominant teams and players, most notably defending champions Chelsea who take on United on the first weekend of October.
Working alongside fellow Lioness Ella Toone, Summer signings Dominique Janssen and Elisabeth Terland, and longer-standing players involved in the Manchester United attacking play, Skinner’s side have a strong foundation in which to build on their dominating 3-0 start to the 2024/25 campaign.
In this, a continuation of her playmaking influence seems set to see Clinton cement her name as a regular starter in what has the potential to be a strong United attack this season.
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