Mary Earps is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. A European champion and a World Cup finalist, it’s a status backed up by a flurry of individual awards she has collected over the past 12 months or so. The judges for those accolades certainly know she’s right up there – be they journalists, fellow players or fans. Emily Ramsey knows it too.
During her time coming through the system at Manchester United, the 22-year-old shot-stopper worked closely with Earps on a regular basis and in February, when she was called up by England as a reward for her excellent form on loan at Everton, she got to see her in a new environment.
“To see the level that [the goalkeepers] train at…” Ramsey says, recalling the experience in an interview with GOAL. “The level of training was really, really high and you've got to step up to that. I know Mary and how she works quite well from United, but to see the commitment and the almost obsession with being the best and making herself the best for the games, it's really good for young goalkeepers to see that.
“Mary's a really good person to learn from because she's had so much experience and she's had it at different levels - not playing and playing, playing at the best team in the league and playing at one of the lower teams in the league. She's the full package to learn from, so why would you not try and tap into that?”
But there’s a fine balance to strike, too. While Ramsey was getting the chance to learn under Earps at Manchester United, it also meant her first-team opportunities were limited. To get the game time she needed to become one of the best in her own right, she knew she needed to move on.
And so that’s what she did. When her contract came up at United this summer, Ramsey, who has spent 12 of the last 13 years with the Red Devils, decided to leave. Now, she’s at Everton on a permanent basis, part of a team looking to cause problems for those big guns while hoping her individual form will earn her more England opportunities after the one in February was cut short by injury.
It's fair to say that both parties look to be on the right track.