Speaking to the media last week ahead of the Arnold Clark Cup, England and Manchester City star Georgia Stanway admitted that she wants to move on from being a utility player.
Stanway stated that being able to play in a variety of positions has worked in her favour in the past. It has allowed her to be called up to tournaments and fill in for others. Despite this, she now wants to knuckle down on a single position.
When asked what single position she would like to occupy, the City ever-present quipped “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me.”
Stanway’s club side have suffered a raft of injuries over the last nine months so the Cumbrian-born player has filled in across the front-line, as well as playing in a back-three and even being a second choice goalkeeper. Stanway says that she views herself as a midfielder, having started her career in that position. She is now looking to push on and cement her place in the middle of the field both for England and Manchester City.
The 23-year-old has been part of the England set-up for over four years and is clearly benefiting from the stability offered by head coach Sarina Wiegman, who took over in September.
Remarking on the recent changes within the England camp, Stanway stated “It’s nice to know that Sarina is here for as long as she can be and that’s set in stone now. We can continue to build the relationships both as team and as staff members.
“Sarina wants the best for absolutely every single player and will go out of her way to make sure that everybody’s comfortable and happy within this environment. Everybody’s treated the same and valued within the squad. I think that’s so important going forward – making sure that everybody has a purpose and has a reason to be here.”
The midfielder became Manchester City’s all-time top scorer in January and she said that this was a relief as it took some pressure off her shoulders. She now aims to use the confidence gained from achieving that feat to help England as they step up their preparation for this summer’s EUROs.
The Lionesses’ Arnold Clark Cup campaign began with Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Canada, a game in which Stanway came off the bench. She also previewed Wednesday’s match-up with Germany and confessed that there is a bit of bad blood between the teams.
She said “They beat us at Wembley on our biggest stage, in-front of our biggest crowd so we want to try and get back at them.”
Stanway will be hoping to start in midfield and add more goals to her England tally. England’s next game is against Spain this afternoon before the Lionesses conclude their Arnold Clark Cup campaign with that rematch against Germany on Wednesday.