Why securing Grace Clinton's long-term future is crucial for United Women
"She loves being here – I know that. I want to work with her for many years to come," Marc Skinner has said on the Clinton contract situation.
Image: Jamie Spencer
Grace Clinton won’t leave Manchester United next summer, but securing her long-term future beyond 2026 is a huge priority for the club.
When Clinton arrived from Everton in 2022, she signed a three-year contract with the option of a fourth. The initial terms of that deal are due to expire at the end of this season, but a triggerable extension means there isn’t danger of her walking away a free agent unless a new contact hasn’t been agreed by 2026.
United have started to reap the rewards in a big way after identifying Clinton as a teenager with potential – she had only started four WSL games since graduating to the Everton first-team at 17 and was still seen as an emerging talent. Although the Red Devils were criticised for a lack of game time off the bat, often not even making the bench, there has been smart use of the loan market.
The coaching staff always planned to be patient and give Clinton time to settle and adapt into a new environment. The League Cup might have represented an opportunity to get her some minutes on the pitch, but towards the end of the group stage in December 2022, she was held back with one eye on the January transfer window in order to prevent her from being cup-tied for a potential loan.
Clinton soon joined Bristol City for the remainder of the season and her second appearance for the club was a League Cup clash with Lewes – as it happened, she was sent off and was suspended the club’s subsequent heavy quarter-final defeat to Manchester City.
Moving to the Championship gave the young midfielder the opportunity to develop and grow out of the intense spotlight that comes with Manchester United, as well be exposed to regular first-team football that couldn’t be offered had she stayed put. Her role in helping the Robins achieve promotion and return to the WSL was substantial and United saw fit to repeat the exercise in 2023/24, but at a higher level and for the duration of the whole season, rather than half.
Developing, gaining experience and getting better all the time, Clinton’s displays for Tottenham were season-defining for the club. It is often portrayed as a slap in the face for United that she did so well on loan, as if to say her potential was missed or overlooked, but it is exactly what the club wanted to happen. She demonstrated she was ready for to make a top flight impact, also earning a place in the senior England setup and preparing herself to return to Manchester.
Speculation was rife in the closing stages of last season about a permanent departure – Spurs coach Robert Vilahamn confirmed in April his unsurprising desire for his club to keep Clinton. She has since admitted that being talked about publicly with uncertainty made it an unsettling period. But United had every intention of Grace being part of the squad come pre-season and having a major role.
So when Clinton, handed the number eight shirt, lined up at Old Trafford on the opening day of 2024/25, it was slightly bizarrely her United debut more than two years after joining. She scored a killer third goal that day against West Ham and then the only goal of the game a week later against former club Everton. At Brighton, she was on the scoresheet early again and was only denied another potential game-winner by the crossbar. Her season objective of getting into the box and scoring more goals is being well and truly smashed already.
Even though, Clinton didn’t get on the pitch for England against Germany during the international break, she won the BBC’s player ratings poll for the follow-up win against South Africa and now returns to WSL focus as United prepare to meet Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday. It’s a major test, but the 21-year-old is repeatedly showing her ability to impact games in a big way.
The level of Clinton’s performances so far has naturally drawn attention to her contract. It technically expires in just eight months, but even if an agreement over a new long-term deal isn’t reached during that time, United would trigger the 12-month option to give themselves more time.
For United, having an England star is as much a marketing win as it is from a sporting perspective. That makes her doubly valuable and it wouldn’t therefore be surprising to see Clinton positioned as a new face of the club alongside Ella Toone and Maya Le Tissier sooner rather than later.
Marc Skinner is limited in what he can say about the contract situation, repeatedly pointing out over the last few years that he has no direct hand in such negotiations.
“I’m sure the club and her representatives will be speaking. I just don’t have involvement in that,” he said when the subject of Clinton’s future was brought up this week.
“My job is to make sure Grace is performing on the field and at the minute, she is doing fantastic. She loves being here – I know that. I want to work with her for many years to come.”
Until there is a contract to announce, the answer to that question isn’t going to change, no matter how times it is asked at various press conferences over the coming weeks and months.
What United will want to avoid is a repeat of the sagas that saw Alessia Russo and Ona Batlle leave 18 months ago. The club triggered one-year options for each in 2022 and the uncertainty of whether they would stay became a soundtrack to the second half of the 2022/23 season. Both had been prepared to sign new deals but the negotiations didn’t go as hoped, which resulted in United losing two hugely influential, top quality players in the relatively early stages of their respective careers.
Mary Earps this past summer was a slightly different situation, with the goalkeeper coming towards the end of her career and United having already future-proofed with a readymade replacement.
Maya Le Tissier signed a new four-year deal in April. She and her family were happy with the process and it proves that it remains an attractive project to talented players. Clinton is potentially the future of both Manchester United and England, so locking in a contract as soon as possible is an absolute must.