Esme Morgan: England and Man City talent in profile

Esme Morgan, 22, describes herself on the pitch as “calm” and “confident”. It’s no wonder. The Sheffield-born defender began her youth career at Manchester City in 2015 love for football started when he was just three years old.

Having joined City from childhood club Eccleshall Rangers, she quickly rose through the under-16s regional talent squad and then to the team’s development squad before being chosen by Nick Cushing to accompany the first team on pre-season tours of Frankfurt and Toulouse .

Aside from a loan spell at Everton, Morgan has spent her entire career at City, starting out as a striker before moving into a defensive role.

At that time she was mainly active as a central defender, but was also active as a defensive midfielder.

Morgan first signed with the club in June 2019 and scored her first goal in the 4-0 win against Birmingham of the 2020/21 season. She signed a contract extension with the club last year.

By this time Morgan had also just made her debut appearances at Wembley Stadium and in the Champions League.

In September 2020, Morgan was called up to the England team’s training camp, which gave her her first glimpse of life at the senior Lionesses team.

The defender returned to the senior side in September last year when she was picked for the first time by England manager Sarina Wiegman after her impressive league performances at City.

With Leah Williamson out of action at this World Cup and captain Millie Bright’s fitness in question, Morgan could well be a key part of England’s defence, alongside the likes of Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter and Lucy Bronze.