Elisabeth Terland’s first taste of English football was one of sour defeat. She came on in the 84th minute to make her tournament debut at the 2022 European Championship for a hopeless Norway side who went on to lose 8-0 against England, the eventual winners, in their Group A encounter.
That humiliation took place at the Amex Stadium and, as such, Terland could have been forgiven for never wanting to step inside the venue again. Instead, however, she made it her home that summer, moving from Brann to Brighton in August 2022 and subsequently scoring 23 goals in 50 appearances for the club. Of those goals, 13 came in 22 Women’s Super League appearances last season, leading to her finishing joint-second in the race for the golden boot.
An impressive return, so much so that it caught the eye of Manchester United who, following the expiration of Terland’s contract with Brighton, snapped up the striker on a two-year deal this month. “I’m so honoured to sign for Manchester United and cannot wait to join up with the team,” the 23-year-old said upon completing her switch from the south coast to the north-west of the country.
At international level, Terland has lived largely in the shadow of Ada Hegerberg – which is no great surprise given the 29-year-old’s achievements including winning the Ballon D’or in 2018. Nonetheless she has a decent return of nine goals in 34 appearances for Norway, having also been capped by her country at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 level, and clearly has the desire to keep improving as a goalscorer.
Speaking after winning Brighton’s player of the season award in May, Terland said: “As a player I want to achieve big things.” She clearly feels she can do that at United, albeit while having to, for some time at least, use portable buildings at the club’s Carrington training complex.
Terland faces tough competition from the experienced Nikita Parris for a place in United’s starting lineup with the manager, Marc Skinner, generally preferring to play with only one striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. But her cause is undeniably helped by being so strongly backed by Skinner, with the 41-year-old describing his new recruit as “a young player who will bring a fresh dynamic and energy to our team”, shortly after her signing was confirmed, adding: “[We] look forward to integrating her into our playing squad.”
It is a squad that has lost a few big names in Mary Earps and the former captain Katie Zelem, alongside Lucía García, in recent weeks; setbacks for United as they seek to qualify for the Champions League having failed to do so last season after finishing fifth in the WSL, albeit the campaign was one of success given it included winning the FA Cup via a 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham in the Wembley final.
after newsletter promotion
Goals have been something of a problem for United, especially following the departure of Alessia Russo to Arsenal last summer, with Parris managing just eight in 21 WSL appearances last season. Terland, therefore, provides a much-needed boost to United’s striking resources that also include the France forward Melvine Malard who has signed a contract until the summer of 2027 having spent last season there on loan from Lyon.
United’s possession-based, attacking style should suit Terland, who no doubt is looking forward to the supply of through balls and crosses she is going to get from players such as Ella Toone on a weekly basis. The hope for United is that their new striker gets on the end of as many as possible and keeps doing what she has been doing for some time now: scoring goals.
