Ella Toone aiming to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo & David Beckham in No.7 legacy bid as Lionesses star claims Man Utd deserve more credit for WSL efforts this season

The Lionesses star, who helped England to European Championship glory in 2022, has taken on the most iconic of jerseys at the club that she grew up supporting. At 25 years of age. Toone is a talismanic presence for the Red Devils – having helped them to lift the FA Cup last season.

Toone is following in some illustrious footsteps when it comes to United’s No.7 shirt, but she claims to thrive under that pressure and wants to help cement the legacy of a squad number that has weighed heavy on some other notable names.

Toone has told the Daily Mail: “It’s a pinch-me moment every time I see it and every time I pull it on, I think, ‘Wow. I was a little girl with a big dream – and one that probably wasn't possible at the time – and now I'm stepping out onto the pitch for Manchester United and wearing my idol’s number seven shirt’.

“And everyone knows what number seven means to Man United. It's a big number, and a lot of legends have worn that shirt before, and hopefully, I can come under that bracket when I pass it on as well.”

The odd question has been asked of United in the 2024-25 campaign, but Marc Skinner’s side occupy a Champions League qualification spot and remain on course to defend their FA Cup crown. With that in mind, Toone said: “Looking back on last season, it wasn't the season that we'd wanted as a club and as players, but we've got some new players in now and we're really hungry to do well. We’ve really bought into Marc’s style of play, and he knows that he’s got an energetic squad with a lot of players willing to run through brick walls for each other, and we’ve really come together as a team and shown that in our performances.

“I do think we slip under the radar a bit. You’ve got the ‘Big Three’ teams of Chelsea, City, and Arsenal, and we are up there, competing with them. But I think for us, we are not really bothered what other people think. We’ve got a good group of girls, really good staff, and if we’re under the radar, then that's fine. We'll go about our business and get on with it.”

United, who sit third in the WSL table, will be back in action on Sunday when playing host to Everton. They then have a FA Cup semi-final derby date with Manchester City to look forward to on April 13 – following another international break that will see Toone looking to add to her collection of 55 caps for England.