Why would Mary Earps want to stay at Man Utd? Lionesses star not the only one who needs to know Red Devils are moving in right direction

It's difficult to sugar-coat what a disappointing season this has been for United. It was always going to be tough to follow up last year’s successes, as the Red Devils proved to be Chelsea’s closest rivals for the title, reached a first Women’s FA Cup final and qualified for the Women’s Champions League for the first time. But they have been so far off the WSL’s ‘big three’ this campaign.

With six league games to go, they are six points off the European spots, having failed to win as many games as they’ve emerged victorious from. Points dropped from winning positions against West Ham, Liverpool and, most painfully, Manchester City at Old Trafford are just some of the poor results that have contributed to this underwhelming campaign.

It means that Skinner’s future at the club is well in question as the end of his contract approaches, and he is not the only one who could move on. Captain Katie Zelem and forwards Lucia Garcia, Nikita Parris and Rachel Williams are all also set to become free agents, alongside Earps. With uncertainty on who the coach will be next season, perhaps it’s not a surprise that this is the case, but it underlines the team’s disorganisation.

It could well be a summer of mass change then, which is hardly conducive with the idea of the Red Devils bouncing back from this season and attacking the new one with conviction. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that is off-putting for some, and given Earps’ only major honours at club level came when she was No.2 at Wolfsburg, the potential of a transition period or rebuilding phase could well be a reason for her to leave, too, especially as she prepares to enter her prime years.

After all, we are talking about a goalkeeper who has spent the last few years proving herself as one of the world’s very best. Indeed, FIFA has twice crowned her The Best at its annual awards, with England Player of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year and the World Cup Golden Glove among the plethora of individual awards bestowed upon her in that time.

At 30 years old, this could be one of Earps' last chances to join a club that can compete for the top honours and grant her action in the Champions League, a competition she still has so little experience of despite her quality and the point she is at in her career.

What are her options, then? With goalkeepers, these things can sometimes need that first domino to fall, one shot-stopper to switch and that club to need a replacement, prompting mass movement in the position. Given there are so many goalkeepers out of contract this summer – Man City’s Ellie Roebuck, Australia star Mackenzie Arnold and Barcelona veteran Sandra Panos among them – we could well get a bit of a merry-go-round situation.

Arsenal have been long-time pursuers of Earps and recent links to Aston Villa’s Daphne van Domselaar may well just be them exploring other options if they do not get the England No.1, rather than them moving on from her as a target. As for the rumours around Barca and PSG, it’s uncertain how significant they are in comparison, especially given the Catalans have been strongly-linked with Roebuck and the French giants have limited non-EU spots in their squad.

This is one of the best goalkeepers in the world available on a free transfer. Of course there is interest. But there is certainly no move that is all-but-done, and while that is the case, United will always have some chance of keeping her.

But would she want to stay? Earps has been at United for five years now and it still feels like they have a lot of work to do to really establish themselves as a regular contender for silverware. The reported dragging on of contract negotiations is hardly going to have made her keener to put pen to paper, either.

Will things change now that INEOS have taken over? Can the new minority owners get United going in the right direction? Can they give Earps assurances about what the future might look like if she chooses to stay with the Red Devils?

The 30-year-old has certainly built a connection with the fans at the club, as she’s enjoyed the best form of her career while with United and no irreparable situation has developed in terms of her staying. If she sees a promising future here, there are reasons for her to stick around.

Earps’ rise to prominence with England has coincided with her time in Manchester, too, and recent times have shown just how valuable that regular game time at club level is, while some of her fellow Lionesses have struggled for action and even dropped out of England squads altogether as a result.

She is one of the first names on the teamsheet with United, she’s playing regularly and she’s playing well, all of which has helped her rather easily keep hold of her England No.1 shirt throughout Sarina Wiegman’s tenure.

With that translating to major international success, such as winning the Women’s Euros, lifting the inaugural Women’s Finalissima trophy and reaching a World Cup final, is it less of a big deal to be winning silverware right now at club level?

But there’s no doubt that a highly-motivated individual like Earps would want to be lifting trophies on both fronts. She’s a world-class goalkeeper and to not even be playing Champions League football will be a source of frustration for not only herself, but many others in the United squad. That’s not through discontent, but a desire to be the best.

The big question she will be asking herself over the next few months is whether or not she can hit the heights in the club game that she wants to with her current team. How will United respond to this disappointing season? What can INEOS do to really drive the women’s team forward?

The solutions for the Red Devils will be made easier if they can keep Earps and her talent around. But she’ll need to know that they can be better than this as a sorry season starts to peter out.