Due to her husband, Mary Earps has decided to move and…
The Lionesses goalie, who played a starring role for England at the World Cup last month, has kept silent about her future so far, despite attracting interest from Women’s Super League giants Arsenal.
Keen to lure Earps this summer, Arsenal allegedly tabled a bid north of £100,000—a transfer fee that would have broken the record for a women’s goalkeeper—but United insisted the goalkeeper was not for sale.
However, Earps’ body language in training has allegedly dropped since her return from the World Cup.
According to The Athletic, Earps returned to Manchester United’s Carrington training ground, cutting ‘an solitary figure’.
The outlet’s sources, who wish to stay anonymous to protect their position, believe all signs point to Earps wanting to leave Manchester United ahead of the WSL transfer deadline on September 14.
Her contract was due to expire at the end of June, but Manchester United opted to trigger her one-year extension this summer, hoping that she would finally agree to a longer-term deal at the club.
Earps and United have been locked in contract talks for over 12 months now, and, given that the goalkeeper has not signed a new long-term deal, her exit looks inevitable.
Lionesses teammate Alessia Russo made a dramatic move from Manchester United to Arsenal this summer, walking out on a free transfer despite United rejecting a world record bid from the north London club in January.
United offered Russo a deal that would have made her the highest-paid player in the club’s history, but the striker refused in order to start a new chapter of her career at Arsenal.
It is thought Arsenal are not pushing as hard for Earps as they did for Russo, already boasting two strong goalkeepers in Manuela Zinsberger and Sabrina D’Angelo.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has already offered Zinsberger assurances that the No. 1 jersey is hers to lose, so Earps would not walk into a first-team place instantly should she sign for the North London side.
If the move negatively affects Earps’ game time, it could jeopardise her dreams of starring at the Olympics with Team GB next summer.
