Manchester United boss Marc Skinner has hailed his ‘great relationship’ with Mary Earps and wants the FA Cup winner to stay despite Arsenal’s interest.
The England international goalkeeper is out of contract at the end of the season and it has been widely reported that Arsenal want to bring her to the Emirates.
Earps is also set to receive offers from other top clubs in Europe but Skinner is hoping the 31-year-old superstar will stay after United’s historic FA Cup triumph.
Speaking after the Red Devils thrashed Tottenham in Sunday’s final to lift the trophy for the very first time, Skinner was quizzed about the contract situations for players and told the BBC: ‘That is a decision to be made later.
‘It is not a conversation for now. I’m sure it does help but me and Mary have a great relationship. Of course I would love her to stay. She is an FA Cup winner.’
Meanwhile, United star Rachel Williams, who scored the second goal at Wembley against Spurs, is adamant that the Red Devils can start fighting the big three of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City for the Women’s Super League (WSL) title.
Asked if United’s FA Cup win had put a different reflection on the season, Williams said: ‘It does. We don’t like to admit it but it does mask over the issues we’ve had.
‘We have had some ups and downs this year. That’s for Marc [Skinner] and the backroom staff to be like, ‘Right this is what we have to do in the summer’ – we are going to have change things next year.
‘We have had some injuries, three or four ACLs, at the start of the season. That’s football, teams go through transition. You have a good year, you have a dip.
‘Next year we might just come back bigger, better and stronger and who knows we might just be lifting the league.’
Lucia Garcia bagged two goals in United’s 4-0 win and was crowned Player of the Match for her glowing performance in the English capital.
‘I’m so happy,’ the Spain international said. ‘It was a tough match and we deserve that, we fought until the end. It has been a tough season for us, and we deserved this win, we are so happy.’
Ella Toone scored a magnificent goal to open the scoring on Sunday and she was equally delighted at full-time as her side made women’s football history.
‘It feels amazing,’ the Englishwoman added. ‘We came here last year and saw what it takes to win an FA Cup.
‘We fell short then and we knew this time that we were hungrier than ever to get a result.
‘We put on a great performance today and I am buzzing we managed to get the win.’
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