When Manchester City and Manchester United completed a stunning deadline day deal that saw Jess Park and Grace Clinton swap clubs, there were big questions to be asked of things on the red side of the city. Given United were in need of much greater depth in their squad, it didn't make total sense for them to engage in a one-in, one-out deal, particularly as it saw them bid farewell to one of their biggest stars.
However, while the situation surrounding Park's arrival at Carrington might have been criticised, none of that was related to the England star herself. In the 23-year-old, United were getting a fantastic talent, one who has proven her incredible technical quality and footballing intelligence since joining Man City as a teenager and debuting for the Lionesses three years ago.
And still, Park's new coach, Marc Skinner, was confident that he could take her to even higher levels in his team. "I think we can get even more out of her than she's shown at City," he said bullishly, the day after the transfer was confirmed. Through the first few weeks of the season, he's set his side up to fulfil that promise in a way that has not only made Park a stand-out performer to this point, but also fellow England star Ella Toone in United's unbeaten start.
Getty ImagesTrying to make things work
There were questions about how Park and Toone would fit into this team together, too. After all, Park joined United as a player who was versatile, yes, but largely recognised to be a No.10. That's the position that Toone holds down in the Red Devils' XI, something which made it hard for Skinner to properly get the best out of her and Clinton in the same team, given it was also the best position of the latter.
Skinner tried to make it work, playing both Toone and Clinton in various roles, be it in the box-to-box midfield position, the No.10 and out wide, with there even instances where it was simply a case of one starting and one on the bench. However, it just didn't quite come together. Would it be different with Park?
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It certainly has been, as Park's entirely different profile to Clinton has better suited her to playing out wide while Toone operates in the No.10. It's a position Park has played before, both for club and country, but not quite in the way she is right now. Rather than being an out-and-out winger who hugs the touchline and looks to deliver crosses, the 23-year-old is driving inside, creating overloads in midfield and linking up nicely with Toone in a way that suits her.
It's required a real change of mentality for Park, who is playing in a totally different system and style to that she has experienced for the majority of her senior career on the blue side of Manchester. "She's still in that structure mindset," Skinner said recently. "Once she starts realising where the space is, no team will be able to deal with her."
Getty ImagesIn fine form
Park is starting to do that, too. Her recent displays for United have been increasingly impressive, with Chelsea so wary of her threat coming in from the right in their Women's Super League meeting last week that, in Skinner's opinion, they changed things up in midfield to counter as much. "They put two controllers in there to make sure that they killed Jess' spaces, I think," he said after the 1-1 draw. "But she still found them."
No player has completed more dribbles in the WSL this term than Park, while Toone is the only United player to have delivered more key passes. "She looks incredible," Skinner noted. "She just adds a different dimension to us."
Getty ImagesDynamic duo
It's not just Park who is benefitting, either. The link-up that she and Toone have showcased through these first few weeks has been eye-catching, with Skinner even going as far to say that "her and Tooney have brought each other to life a little bit more".
"I know what she is like," Toone said of Park last month, speaking to . "I've played with her a lot for England." That's certainly showing as they get acquainted as club-mates. The way the pair are linking up both in those central areas but also when Park stays a little wider is helping increase the attacking potency of this United side, while their ability to drift into different spaces adds unpredictability.
"She is someone you want on the ball," Toone added of Park. "That will be really good for us. We want to keep the ball a lot and play exciting football and she can help us to do that." It's panning out that way thus far, with United unbeaten through five WSL games and off to a winning start in the Champions League, having made their debut in the formal portion of the competition in midweek with a 1-0 victory over Valerenga.
