England's new game-changer? Sarina Wiegman should give Man City star Jess Park a chance to thrive in Lionesses' February camp

It was some seven years ago that Park signed for Man City, from York City, with her only 16 years old when she debuted for the club in a Continental Cup win over Doncaster Belles back in the 2017-18 season. She’s had some incredible moments in the time since, scoring a hat-trick against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup in early 2020 and, at the end of the same year, providing the assist that allowed Georgia Stanway to give City the lead in extra-time in that competition’s final.

But she’s always been on the fringes of a first team that has long boasted an abundance of attacking assets, only once hitting double figures for appearances in the league in her six seasons so far.

Last season’s temporary switch to Everton was crucial in Park’s development, then. She made 19 starts in all competitions, having racked up just 21 for City in the five seasons prior, contributing five goals and five assists in her first campaign as a regular starter for a WSL team. It was a strong showing from a player who was just 20 years old when the season began.

“Jess has been great for us and it shows in the minutes we’re giving her,” Everton boss Brian Sorensen said last term. “There are still things in her game she needs to improve but, as a whole, she looks much more confident than when she first came in.

"She is really trying to develop her physical side, she’s really taking steps in the right direction there. Then it’s just being smart under pressure - and being consistent, always tracking back and doing the right stuff. When she gets that right, you will almost have the complete, finished product, but she still has years to grow and we’re happy to help her with her development.”

That growth didn’t go unnoticed back at her parent club, either. Speaking about her time on Merseyside, Man City boss Gareth Taylor said on Friday: “There were times last year when I was monitoring her progress and I was like, ‘As much as she's growing and developing elsewhere, we could really do with her here'.”

But after being on the fringes for so long, the time Park spent playing regularly was important, and it set her in good stead to come back to City and make an impact.

In the first half of this season, though, it felt justified to question why the Cityzens didn’t send Park back out on loan. The 22-year-old had played just 101 minutes in the WSL by the time the winter break rolled around, from six substitute appearances.

She was doing all she could in the Conti Cup to try and earn a place in the league, scoring twice and providing one assist in five appearances, but that place on the bench on a weekend remained unchanged. She was trying to break into a team that was competing for the title, after all, one with top players performing consistently well.

But then City were dealt a real blow. Jill Roord, who had thrived since arriving from Wolfsburg for a bumper fee in the summer, ruptured her ACL at the end of January. It was devastating news for the player, of course, and the whole team. Roord’s attacking threat from midfield had helped City thrive and it wasn’t going to be easy to replace.

Park, some 15 centimetres shorter than the Dutchwoman, is a very different player but she is a threat in the final third in her own way. And since a space has opened up in City’s midfield, she has grabbed the opportunity to fill it with both hands.

Taylor admitted on Friday that if Roord was fit, then “she plays”. But it says a lot that, in her absence, he looked to Park, over Filippa Angeldahl or Mary Fowler, two established senior internationals, to start the huge FA Cup fifth-round clash with Arsenal and then, five days later, the trip to Chelsea in the league. They were her first starts of the season that didn’t come in the Conti Cup, and her first back-to-back in two years.

“She's always been there,” Taylor said on Friday. “I think she's always been a player that has really interested me. I mean, she helped us win our first trophy together as a team, coming off the bench and showing real maturity from a young age. She's had to be patient, but her training levels and her attitude has been first-class, and I think is a real example for any young player. She's now broken into the England set-up as well.

"We've adjusted her position a little bit but I've always felt she's capable of playing in between the lines. She picked up some good positions this evening and worked tremendously hard as well.”

When GOAL noted that it said a lot of Park for her to come in and thrive in what was probably City’s biggest week of the season so far, Taylor showed no sign that he had been surprised. “Yeah but she's capable,” he responded. “You look at Jess and you see, physically, okay, she's not the biggest, but her agility is very good, her ball control and her technique is very, very good.

"With Jess, the thing that's going to make her world-class will be her final action, but she is improving a lot on that, working hard with Shaun [Goater, the former Man City striker who is part of Taylor’s coaching staff] in training and she's really contributing to the team at the moment.”

Those qualities that Park has on and off the ball have clearly endeared her to England head coach Wiegman, too, as the 22-year-old has been a regular in the Lionesses’ squads since marking her debut in November 2022 with a goal.

Granted her full debut in the February camp that followed, Park was a lively presence in midfield as the Lionesses got off to a strong start against Italy. Wiegman often restrains from talking about individuals, but when asked about how the young players did in an experimental starting XI, which also gave chances to Maya Le Tissier, Niamh Charles and Katie Robinson, she was full of praise.

“How we started today, it was pretty impressive because you come here, all these fans are waiting for us and are very excited and we come in the stadium, there's about 30,000 people. So, that is very impressive that we just started to play and that's really what we want [those young players] to do,” she said. “Of course, there could be some anxiety. That would be really normal. But they played the game with lots of courage and just played football. I'm impressed, I'm happy for them and happy for the team.”

Included in the Lionesses’ April camp as she continued to be key for Everton, it felt like Park had a real chance to make the World Cup squad – until a shoulder injury ended her season prematurely and ruled her out of contention for the tournament.

Park had admitted that World Cup was a goal for her, so to miss out through circumstances out of her control will have surely only motivated her more. The 22-year-old wasn’t included in England’s squad in December either, so she doesn’t just come into this camp in good form, but also chomping at the bit to show what she can do.

It feels like the perfect window to come back, too. For the first time since last July and for the only time in 2024, the Lionesses have friendly fixtures on the agenda this month, offering Wiegman a chance to experiment slightly and perhaps take a look at options outside of those she knows almost everything about.

Park isn’t short of competition for a place in this team. She can play as an attacking midfielder, as a winger and even as a centre-forward, all areas that England are well-stocked in. She’s been used primarily as a No.10 so far under Wiegman, meaning she is competing with Fran Kirby, Ella Toone and Lauren James for a spot.

But Wiegman knows a lot about those three. She’s seen them regularly and in major tournament environments, whereas she’s only seen Park in action in her country’s colours on a small handful of occasions. With nothing on the line in February, and the 22-year-old in wonderfully confident form, why not give her a run out?

On the flip side, if Wiegman wants to nail down the attacking partnerships in this team and figure out what her best forward line looks like, then perhaps there’s another crucial role that Park can play.

When England won the European Championship in 2022, the super-subs were crucial. Toone, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo all scored vital goals from the bench to help the Lionesses lift the title, often changing games with their impact in the second half. Since that tournament, England have lacked super-subs. Those three names have largely been integrated into the starting XI, and no one has really filled their shoes by offering match-winning contributions from the bench.

With her effective pressing and hard work off the ball, her agility and will to drive at opponents when in possession and the desire with which she gets into goal-scoring positions, Park could be exactly what Wiegman is looking for when it comes to a new game-changer. Indeed, she was only on the pitch for two minutes when she scored on her England debut some 15 months ago.

With an eye for goal, bundles of creativity and dreamy technical ability, Park can be a real asset as the Lionesses enter their next tournament cycle, whether it be as a starter or as a sub – and there is no better time for Wiegman to give her a chance to prove that than right now.