Galton: Why I had to join United
She's openly been a Leeds United fan all her life, but Manchester United Women's star Leah Galton says when the Reds offered her the chance to join the club, she said yes in an instant.
She reflected on a memorable first meeting with head coach Casey Stoney and admitted that, despite her Yorkshire allegiance, she's loving life as a Red.
Galton: I knew this team would be good
Leah Galton reflects on becoming a Red and meeting her team-mates for the first time...
"When I first heard Man United Women were creating a team I was like 'I can't play for Man United, I'm a Leeds fan!'" she joked. "Then Casey got in touch with me and we had a meeting. I came out of that meeting thinking 'wow, that's the team I want to play for and that's the coach I want to play under'.
"I had been out for a good five months, I wasn't training or playing for a team. It was summertime - so I met up with friends and spent time with family and I wanted to do what I'd never been able to do. But I got bored of it very quickly. I had no schedule, no routine and I didn't know what I was doing. I then heard about United setting up the team.
"I had never met Casey before, I'd just seen her play and seen her on TV. It was a very interesting moment when I saw her sat in the office at Old Trafford. I felt like I had to be very professional about it because I hadn't been in contact with people like that for a while. It was another moment where I went in as one person and came out a different person. I was so ready and so focused to get back into it and give everything."
Leah also revealed further what Casey spoke to her about during that pivotal first meeting.
"She told me what her philosophy for the team was and the kind of team she wanted to build and that had me interested right away," adds Galton.
"Obviously I know I'm a Leeds fan and my whole family is, but when a team like Manchester United come asking if you want to play for them, it's like 'wow'. The biggest club want you to play them and all jokes are put aside. I never thought I'd have a chance of playing for the Women's team - it felt big to join.
"Casey said she thought she knew my potential and she wanted to invest in that and that made me really excited to work with her because no coach had said to me before that they were excited to see what I could grow into. She's stuck to her word and, a year-and-a-half later, I'm getting to where she thought I would be."
You can listen to the full podcast with Leah on all your favourite streaming platforms now.