It’s only been three days since the conclusion of the WSL in England, and one of the league’s star players, Ella Toone, is already being linked with a move away from the English top flight.
According to Daily Mail WSL reporter Kathryn Batte, no official bid/approach has been made yet, but Manchester United and England star Ella Toone to Barcelona could still be a serious posibility.
The midfielder is under contract with the Red Devils until 2026, so it would take a large sum to pry her away from her childhood club this summer.
Toone is United’s top goal scorer with over 50 goals, she is also their record appearance holder and has been with the club since 2018.
According to AiScore, her current transfer value is around £275,000.
Toone’s stats this season
Toone played in all 22 WSL games this season for United, and despite the team not having the best time in the league she still scored six goals and grabbed four assists.
The 24-year-old also played a major part in her side’s FA Cup triumph, she played in all five games, scored three goals, and grabbed two assists.
Her pick of the bunch came against Spurs in the final at Wembley where she hit an absolute rocket… which crucially put her side 1-0 up just before half-time.
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Also at United’s recent end-of-season awards she was awarded:
- Fans player of the year
- Goal of the season
- Player of the year – shared with Maya Le Tissier
How would she fare at Barca?
Well, the Catalans have once again won the Spanish Liga F title, making it their 5th consecutive league success, with two games left to play, Barca will be looking to go a whole season unbeaten. They also have the league’s two top goalscorers, Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo.
In recent seasons, Barca have brought in some English talent, as Lionesses Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh joined the side, so Toone would have no issues settling into the squad.
However, the middle of the park for Barca is stacked with exceptionally talented players like Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, former Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, Patri Guijarro, Vicky Lopez, Claudia Pina and more…
So it’s hard to see Ella Toone automatically replacing one of these players in the starting XI, so in my opinion, she would be more of an impact sub (which she is no stranger to being).
But saying that she would be playing and learning from arguably the best midfielders in world football if she did make the switch and the England international is hugely talented herself, her ability to turn up in the big games is outstanding and her overall work rate and quality are what see her receive a place in the starting XI for United week in and week out.
Can they afford to bring Ella Toone to Barcelona?
As Batte said, Barcelona have made no direct approach yet to sign Toone, and for them, it all depends on how much it costs them to renew Putellas’ contract (which is set to be sorted Tuesday 31st May) and of course whether they can negotiate a new deal for Lucy Bronze. Could the 32-year-old defender move away from the Spanish giants to pave the way for Toone to make the switch?…
Overall, I feel it would be a real shame to see Toone depart from United, the club that she has supported all her life and been a crucial player for since 2018. Nevertheless, United failed to qualify for the Champions League this season, and a player of Toone’s quality deserves to be playing on the world stage.
Ultimately, this transfer depends on whether Barca makes an offer, if United think it’s a good enough offer, and what Toone herself actually wants.
This one is definitely one to keep an eye on over the next couple of months…