When Manchester United announced the signing of Jess Park from Manchester City at the start of September, even people who didn’t usually follow women’s football took notice.
It was one of the biggest stories of the summer as far as the Women’s Super League is concerned. A player long tipped for greatness swapping the blue side of Manchester for the red side, and signing on the dotted line for 4 years.
Signing an important young player like Jess Park, from a rival, and her already being a proven WSL performer as well as a Euro winning England squad player – that was quite statement from Man United.
She has started well for us too, so let’s have a little look at who Jess Park is, and how she fits in at Man United.
Who is Jess Park?
Jess is from Hull, where she also got her footballing start at youth level, before a very brief stint at York City. In 2017, she moved to Manchester City where she made her WSL debut aged just 16 years old.
She was touted as a top prospect from very early on, but although she established herself in City’s first team, Jess was part of a very deep City squad with lots of midfield options, so she was constantly fighting for minutes, often coming off the bench.
Park felt this was restricting her development, so a loan to Everton was arranged in 2022. Here. she was a regular starter and came on in leaps and bounds, culminating in an England call up and her first senior cap.
After returning to Manchester City she became a more regular feature in the team, and was also part of the Lionesses squad for Euro 2025, which England obviously won, and this brought her much more attention.
This is when United registered their interest. Man City still had a lot of options in midfield, and her time at Everton had shown Jess that there was life outside the Etihad. So with her only having a year left on her contract, United and City made a swap deal: Park for Clinton, who also only had a year left on her contract.
Jess Park became a Manchester United player on the 4th of September, 2025.
Playing Style and Qualities
“She’s unstoppable this season!”
An excellent strike from Man Utd’s Jess Park 🤩 pic.twitter.com/xkgfCNpqvL
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) November 2, 2025
Marc Skinner’s side has been crying out for a player who can link the midfield and the attack like Jess Park can. Someone who can receive the ball between the lines, turn under pressure, and create chances. Park’s technical quality means she can do this all day.
She’s naturally creative, loves quick interplay, and has great vision too, which means she can unlock opposition defences before they even realise what’s happening.
Great balance and close control make her dangerous in tight areas, and she has the flair to take players on, while her direct runs offer something different to the more positional play or physical presence of other members of the squad.
Her mentality is a key part of who she is as a player too. She is openly hungry to learn and develop, which makes her keen on the pitch and always asking for more responsibility. Skinner described Park as a player he can “let off the chain” – so he obviously recognises the fact that letting her play with the freedom to express herself is the way to get the best out of her.
So Park is a versatile and unpredictable threat herself, as well as a chance creator.
Her Role at United
She is officially listed as a midfielder, but Park operates primarily in the spaces just behind the striker. Effectively, she’s a number 10 who can also drift wide when needed.
Her job will be making creative connections. Receiving the ball between the lines and linking play with Toone and Geyse, as well as making late runs into the box that cause defences all kinds of problems. Her energy and awareness will be utilised as part of the press when out of possession too.
She mirrors Bruno Fernandes in the men’s team in lots of ways. She offers intelligence and movement, and the ability to turn possession into chances incredibly quickly, especially on the counter.
United’s women often face deep, compact defences in the Women’s Super League, so a player like Jess Park, who can mix up the point of attack, drift between positions, draw opponents out and turn up late in the box offers a lot to the team. She’s versatile in the best way, and that will be a big part of her game for the team.
How She Has Started
We know why United wanted her, we know what her role is, so how is she doing?
Well, she didn’t need much time to settle in, put it that way. Her debut was on the 7th of September against Leicester and she looked bright, busy, and hungry for the ball.
In October she came off the bench just after half time to score twice in a 4-1 comeback against Everton, in a performance that showcased everything she is about. She had loads of energy, great composure, and her finishing was clinical.
She won WSL Player of the Month for October, so that tells you all you need to know.
Even more encouraging is how well she seems to have slotted into the team. She looks entirely at home in the red jersey, and looks to have instant chemistry with Toone in particular.
She’s had a concussion amongst all of this, but was soon recovered and going back at it.
If she can maintain this sort of form for the rest of the season she could fast become a fan favourite. In fact, given her age and the fact she is more than fulfilling her potential already, she could end up being at the heart of the squad for a very long time indeed.