Russo and Toone nominated for Player of the Year award

Friday 20 May 2022 10:00

Manchester United Women’s Alessia Russo and Ella Toone have been nominated for the WSL’s Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Vertu Motors Fans’ Player of the Year award.

The Reds’ duo have been recognised among six players on the shortlist as a result of their respective individual performances in this season’s Women’s Super League. 

The winner will be decided by a vote, which supporters can now have their say on here

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The nominations come off the back of a commendable campaign for the United pair, who both played their part in the league as United finished fourth, just shy of European qualification. 

Russo, coming back off an injury-affected first season at United, played in every single one of United’s WSL outings and finished the term as our top goalscorer in the competition, with nine. 

The forward was consistently ready to be called upon in important moments, netting strikes in big matches against Manchester City and Arsenal, plus a double at Old Trafford versus Everton. 


Alessia's stunning solo effort at Tottenham Hotspur in November was also up for the WSL’s Goal of the Season prize.

The 23-year-old’s noteworthy performances have also seen her return to the England squad, and, like Toone, she has recently been named in the Lionesses’ provisional 28-player group for this summer’s home European Championship. 

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Toone joins her good friend Russo on the shortlist, as a result of another impressive league season for the club that she initially joined as a youngster. 

Our no.7, who was also up for the WSL’s Player of the Season award, turned out in each and every one of our games in the 2021/22 competition. 

Across those matches, Ella tallied up seven goals and eight assists for the Reds, with no player in the league setting up more goals than the midfielder. 

Our all-time top goalscorer continued to add to her total this season, featuring stand-out efforts away to Leicester City and Everton, while her ever-present status in the competition saw her tick over a century of appearances for the club. 

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Russo and Toone are joined by Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) on the list. 

Voting for the award is now open and you can do so here, prior to the midday BST closing time on Friday 27 May. The winner will then be announced on the following Tuesday (31 May). 

Good luck to our two nominated Reds!

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