Mary Earps will go into the Women's Euros 2022 as England's No.1, just 18 months on from nearly quitting football entirely.
The 29-year-old has been Sarina Wiegman's trusted goalkeeper since she replaced Phil Neville in September 2021.
Earps has been recalled to England under Wiegman
The Manchester United goalkeeper has started 10 of the 13 games under Wiegman with Man City's Ellie Roebuck out injured for a lengthy time.
That was not the case before her return to the international fold last year and that came as a surprise to Earps more than anyone.
She had not played any international games since November 2019 and she was fully accepting that she may not win anymore caps, but now she is likely to start at the Women's European Championship on home soil.
She told talkSPORT: "I'd made peace with my international career being over and I was really at peace with everything that had happened.
"I'd come through the other side of it and accepted what had happened and gone on.
"This last 12 months has taken an unexpected turn. Here I am, it has been incredible.
"I've loved every minute of it and that's all I'm trying to do really, be as present as possible and make the most of every single second."
Earps considered quitting football just last year
Not only did she think her international career might be over, she was also contemplating whether or not to quit the game entirely.
Back at the start of 2021, her Manchester United contract was coming to an end she contemplated pursing a career outside of football.
She has an information management and business studies degree from Loughborough University and was planning for life after football.
Speaking to the England Football website, Earps said: "I was in the final year of my contract at United last year and was weighing up options of whether to play, whether not to play, whether I was going to go into the business world and use my degree there.
"But then the opportunity arose for me to extend my contract at United in a way where I felt positive about it and now it's led me to here. I couldn't write it.
Wiegman has started Earps in 10 of her 13 games in charge
She explained: "[Moving away from football] was definitely part of the conversation. I spoke to my dad and my mum about it. I said 'this is my thought process, these things have happened over the last few years, and what do I want from my life and what do I want for my future? I really need to consider it as an option'.
"I think part of them was disappointed because they know how much I love the game but they also respect that you have to, at some point, think about the future and think about where your life is.
"Women's football is very different to men's football. It's not a normal job and it's not a case of you are set for life in that way, you have to plan. I never shy away from that harsh reality."
Earps has an impressive CV both on and off the football pitch and initially came through the Leicester academy.
Earps has 18 international caps in total
She was signed by Doncaster Rover Belles ahead of the inaugural Women's Super League (WSL) season.
The goalkeeper then had spells at Birmingham, Bristol Academy and Reading before being signed by one of the top women's clubs in Europe - Wolfsburg.
After one season, and four appearances, in the Bundesliga, Manchester United came calling and has been their No.1 ever since.
It's been some journey for Earps and now she's got that shirt for the Lionesses too and will be hoping to do the business on home soil.
Listen to live commentary of every England Women's Euro 2022 game on talkSPORT with the tournament getting underway on July 6.
No comments:
Post a Comment