In the world of football, the women’s game is bigger now more than ever before. It’s been receiving the spotlight it deserves, and super fans are including their matches into their viewing rituals. One player in particular who has caught our eye is the Manchester born and raised, Ella Toone. Toone has taken the football world by storm as a crucial member of Manchester United W.F.C and the England National squad.
The dynamic midfielder has etched her name into history as Manchester United’s first female player to wear the number ‘7’ jersey. Her exceptional talent has captivated the hearts of fans across the globe, so much so that we’re interested in taking a closer look into Toone’s career that’s only getting started!
Ella Toone’s football career began at the early age of eight playing in a girls’ league within her hometown of Tyldesley. At such an early age, her potential was so obvious that she was spotted by Manchester United and placed into their youth squads at only eight. Toone Spent seven years with the Reds’ youth teams before advancing to the few possible women’s squads – first being Blackburn Rovers and then Manchester City.
When she joined the Blackburn Rovers in 2013, Toone made first team at the age of 16 scoring an impressive 13 goals in 20 appearances. While at Manchester City from 2016-18, she only played five times before returning to Manchester United for its inaugural season in the FA Women’s Championship.
The lifelong Red Devil may have dipped her toes into the likes of other teams, but Manchester United has always been where she considers home. It’s the team she’s wanted to play for since she was a kid, and her dreams were made a reality when they launched a Women’s Super League team.
In 2019, Toone contributed four goals in a 7-0 win against Leicester City, claiming the FA Women’s Championship Player of the Month award, and was capped by England Under-21’s for the first time. In the following year’s campaign, she had another scoring spree against Leicester by netting five goals for a 11-1 win in the Continental League Cup.
In the 2020/21 season, Toone finished as United’s top scorer, with 10 goals across all competitions. She’s shown no signs of slowing down as the Red’s assigned her the famous number ‘7’ jersey before the 2023/24 season.
As someone who was born and raised in Manchester, Toone knows more than any other player the feeling of representing the Man United number ‘7’ jersey. She’s the first number ‘7’ in the Manchester United Women’s team, which all players know is more than just a number. For Man United players, it has historical meaning as many legends have proudly worn the iconic number in red.
Toone’s ‘7’ has become a regular number on the pitch during matchdays, and her jersey has become the top-selling United Women’s jersey from the 2022/23 season, and the 10th most popular of all United players both men and women.
While Toone’s main goal is to succeed on the pitch, the importance of her role as a female footballer has been inspirational to young girls across the globe. She has become a role model for young footballers, and those who view her as a hero can now wear her number ‘7’ jersey with pride.
Ella Toone is not only a vital player for Manchester United, but she’s a stand-out on the England Women’s National squad. Toone was called to the England senior squad for the first time in 2020 after being a regular with England’s WU17, WU19, and WU21 squads. She’d previously proved her excellence as a Young Lioness at the 2016 FIFA U17 World Cup and throughout her Manchester United career.
After the arrival of Sarina Wiegman, Toone elevated into a senior set-up, quickly becoming a regular member on the pitch. She’s consistently scored under Wiegman’s coaching, scoring a hat-trick for England in a World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
Fast forward to the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro, Toone played a key role by scoring against Spain to keep the Lionesses alive in the quarterfinals, and later scored one of the goals in the final against Germany at Wembley stadium.
As if the 2022 Euros weren’t enough for the 24-year-old, Toone went on to score twice at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with one of them being the deciding goal that put England through to the final against Spain.
If you enjoyed learning about Ella Toone’s accomplishment of becoming the first female Manchester United number ‘7’, check out our other blog where we highlight all of the other iconic Manchester United number 7’s!
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