Cityzen Es (Esme Morgan interview)

A Manchester City season-ticket holder as a child who now gets the shirt with her own name on it, Esme Morgan is candid about competing with players she says are a level above her right now. She learned the game in a boys’ team, Eccleshall Rangers, whose players still message her; her City debut came against Lyon at the Toulouse International Cup, where Dzsenifer Marozsan flicked the ball over her head as though she were not there. A loan at Everton taught her to perform every day or lose her place, with Chloe Kelly – who has since followed her to City – the hardest daily opponent. Two England camps in, she says it has not sunk in and will not until a debut. She is studying part-time and fundraising for Sheffield Children’s Hospital.