Manchester United boss Marc Skinner told reporters that Ella Toone is in contention to return to the squad for Saturday’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie against West Bromwich Albion.
The Lioness has been out with a calf injury since November and missed the final international and club games of 2024, but Skinner confirmed she will ‘hopefully’ play some part this weekend as the holders begin their FA Cup defence. He also discussed United’s January outgoings so far and plans for the rest of the window.
What did Marc Skinner say?
Ahead of United beginning their FA Cup title defence, Skinner confirmed that while Lisa Naalsund and Evie Rabjohn remain unavailable – with the latter missing the chance to play her sister, West Brom’s Olivia Rabjohn – Toone is set to return.
“She trained yesterday with the team working on the shape and stuff and she was really sharp, so I’m hoping we can get her into the game and introduce her after the long time she’s had out,” Skinner said, adding the midfielder would likely be limited to around half an hour of playing time.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnited are strong favourites for Saturday’s tie against West Brom, who sit eighth in the third tier. However, United’s manager called for his team to be “ruthless” .
“We’ve got to give them the utmost respect by playing our game and being as aggressive as we possibly can.
“They’ll raise their game probably 20-30% to the best of their performance, but the reality is we have to suffocate that.
“It’s the start of a new part of a season so the energy is big, nobody’s played games yet so there’s going to be a bit of rustiness, but we’re the holders of this cup and we want to continue that. We know it’s going to be a difficult task to get to where we want, which is finals and winning again, so we start with West Brom.”
The cup tie begins a run of games that sees United face rivals Manchester City twice in a week, in the Subway League Cup and Barclays WSL. When FromTheSpot asked whether fans should expect to see rotation tomorrow, Skinner said: “The reality is the squad that is currently here is made up predominantly of players that have been playing.
“This is the first game of this part of the season for us as well so we have to get players minutes in this before we go into a three-game week next week. I’m sure there will be changes in the game but we’re the holders in the FA Cup and we need to maintain that.“
Skinner said a decision will be taken later today on whether first-choice keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce or backup Safia Middleton-Patel starts between the sticks.
This week has seen United’s first outgoings of the January transfer window, with Emma Watson and Jess Simpson departing on loan to Everton and Bristol City respectively. Hayley Ladd, who has played for the club since they joined the WSL in 2019, also left on a permanent deal to Everton.
Embed from Getty ImagesReacting to the move, Skinner said: “Hayley Ladd will always remain a legend of this club. She’s been here for that period of time, has grown with the club, mine and Hayley’s relationship was really good, even towards the end of her going to Everton and will remain so.
“The reality is we’re moving to a model of young, talented players and we’re growing in that direction. From my perspective, we wish Hayley Ladd the very best – I think she may even come in today to speak to the players and say goodbye, so the relationship stays really strong.
Skinner said United have enough midfielders to continue without signing a replacement for Ladd – but added that “if there’s business in that area that makes sense then of course we’re going to look at it.”
Fellow midfielder Grace Clinton also made headlines after the club triggered an option to extend her contract until 2026. The 21-year-old has been a key player since her return from a loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur, and some fans were concerned that there was no news on a long-term deal for the star.
“Grace is a player that we should be building this future team around,” Skinner said. “I know the club will be meeting Grace and obviously her representatives to discuss that and obviously what those terms look like. I don’t have any say in those moments, that’s not the part that I work on – but of course that’s something I’d love us to push and I’d love Grace to stay here for a long time.“
Finally, ahead of the Red Devils’ 2025 opener, the manager discussed his ambitions for the second half of the season.
“One of the metrics we want to keep improving is shots, entries into the opponents’ box – those are things that will show how much control we can get of the game. I am really happy obviously with clean sheets and the way we’ve defended.
“We know where we are right now which is a point off second, joint third (fourth on goal difference) – so we have to look at continuing that improving those statistical analyses and being really aggressive in the second part of the year.”
Manchester United face West Brom at Leigh Sports Village at 17:15 GMT on Saturday.