Ella
Toone

Toone spent seven years with the Reds’ youth teams before returning, via spells at Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, in 2018. The childhood United fan is an explosive midfielder with a real eye for goal, and she proved this by netting 15 times across 19 starts in all competitions as we stormed to the FA Women’s Championship title in season one. She continued her prolific form in the following campaign, notably hitting five during an 11-1 win over Leicester in the Continental League Cup and bagging her first Women's Super League strike away to Everton in February 2020. Toone was rewarded for her efforts at club level with a first senior England cap 12 months later, scoring a penalty in a 6-0 friendly triumph over Northern Ireland. She added her inaugural international hat-trick to a list of growing milestones by the end of the year too, after netting three in an October victory away to Latvia. The following summer, Ella became a European champion with the Lionesses, most notably producing a crucial quarter-final equaliser against Spain and a brilliant chip to open the scoring in the final against Germany. Our no.7 returned from the tournament to help United finish second in the 2022/23 WSL campaign – securing the club’s maiden UEFA Women’s Champions League berth – while also featuring in the team’s first-ever FA Cup final, in which we were narrowly defeated by Chelsea. Between terms, the midfielder continued to make history, as a member of the first England side to reach a senior final on the global stage since 1966. Despite concluding the World Cup with a loss to Spain, Ella left Australia with more experience and memories under her belt, including a stunning semi-final strike against the aforementioned co-hosts. The Tyldesley-born midfielder’s performances for club and country earned her a spot in the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World 11 for 2023, which was announced just shy of a fortnight before her 150th United appearance, against Aston Villa, in January 2024. By that point, no player had played more times or scored more goals for our women’s team than Tooney. Ella starred on United’s successful return to the FA Cup final in May, opening the scoring with a superb long-range strike against Tottenham, which later won the team’s Goal of the Season award. That was one third of an individual-prize triple for our current vice-captain, who was chosen as the fans’ Player of the Year, while sharing her team-mates’ corresponding accolade with Maya Le Tissier.