Grace Clinton transfer: Were Man Utd unwise to sanction the move of their best midfielder to Manchester City? | Football News

History will tell you that a move from one Manchester club to the other is usually frowned upon. Coated in so much controversy that it does not tend to happen very often.

There are only a handful of players to have braved the short hop across the city in the men’s game, and even less in the women’s game.

England duo Grace Clinton and Jess Park’s decision to swap one half of Manchester for the other on the eve of the new Women’s Super League season, therefore, might come as a shock. Football purists would argue it should never have happened. Man Utd fans will say they know this feeling all too well.

Clinton, 22, is one of the best young midfielders in the WSL. Her sharp rise since being loaned out by Manchester United to get experience at Tottenham two years ago has been remarkable, and her potential at both club and international level surpasses nearly all her age.

United always had a long-term plan for Clinton, and it did not include joining their Manchester rivals. But to draw a significant fee for a player with only 12 months left on her contract – and to avoid another fiasco where a big player leaves for free – is material in this case.

Marc Skinner has been stung before. Ever since Alessia Russo left for Arsenal and Ona Batlle departed for Barcelona in the same summer, neither for money, head coach Skinner has had to field criticism over Man Utd’s questionable business sense and perceived lack of ambition.

Journalists were right to question the direction. Man Utd have been living in nearly-not-quite limbo for a few years now, with enough promise and talent to show progress but not enough to consistently compete for trophies – bar the FA Cup in 2024.

Clinton is and will be a winner. At just 22, she is a European champion. In conversation with Sky Sports in August (when she was still a Man Utd player), she said: “This summer was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I don’t think I’ve processed it, sometimes it will hit me and I just think ‘I won the Euros’.

“I don’t believe it myself. It’s inspiring to know I can be a part of such a special group, winning trophies, it’s surreal.”

And perhaps the latter part is exactly why Clinton was open to joining Manchester City in the first place – a club who held a longstanding interest in the Liverpudlian, predating this summer.

Players with her exceptional versatility and talent want the chance to play in the biggest games, on the biggest stages, with the prospect of silverware at the end. They feel they deserve it.

Historically, City have always been further ahead in their evolution, albeit Man Utd’s solitary FA Cup title came more recently than City’s last tangible triumph – the League Cup in 2022.

Even Man Utd’s participation in this year’s Champions League competition has not been a compelling enough reason to stay. For Clinton, this is about the long game. Speaking in her departure statement on Instagram she said: “I feel the future of the club and I aren’t on the same page.” Ouch.

With Man City under new management in Andree Jeglertz – a progressive coach, who favours technical players – Clinton clearly feels she stands a better chance of success sooner.

Of course, titles and trophies tend to have a profound impact at elite level. Once you get a taste you inevitably want more. And there is no doubt England’s achievements have been transformative for Clinton, telling Sky Sports: “I learnt a lot of different roles this summer.

“And I saw world-class players’ attitudes, the way they work and recover. Lucy Bronze is in the ice bath at three o’clock in the morning. Keira Walsh is never out of the gym. They are in a different mindset, with habits they use every day. Mentally I learnt so much. It’s made me hungrier.”

This is a player destined for the very top, with the capacity to get there fast. And now has the possibility of forming an unrivalled midfield partnership with Yui Hasegawa at Man City, the only player in the league to make more tackles than Clinton’s 86 last term. The league has scarcely seen a better midfield pivot.

There will be plenty persuaded by the argument that this is bad business for Man Utd, and there is logic to that thinking, but Skinner does at least have options to fall back on, including new signing Julia Zigiotti Olme, Hinata Miyazawa and young Canada international Simi Awujo – although the optics are still not favourable.

Clinton is the type of player you build a team around. A future captain who, in her own words, wants to ‘do it all’.

“I love helping the team get out of sticky situations – and I love a tackle. The feeling of pulling off a pass to help someone score a goal, it’s like cooking someone dinner. I want do it all.”

A backlash is surely inevitable, albeit Park’s arrival will help to soften the blow. And in no way is that intended to be reductive on her many strengths. She arguably offers better balance to Skinner’s set-up higher up the pitch. The 23-year-old brings Champions League experience, and has the ability to push Ella Toone for the No 10 position, or play a wider role.

Her eye for goal is also a major asset if Skinner wants to unload some of the burden placed on last year’s top scorer Elisabeth Terland. But the fact remains, Man Utd are losing a world-class talent to a direct rival. And not for the first time.