Bad news today if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur Women fan. Midfielder Grace Clinton, who broke out to be not only Spurs Women’s best player but also one of the most exciting young players in the WSL, posted what appears to be a farewell message to Spurs fans on Instagram.
This past year was by far my happiest season of football! I loved every minute at this club and I’ve made friends for life along the way. I’m so beyond grateful to the staff and my team mates for making this club so special to be apart off. Most importantly thank you to our fans for your unbelievable support this past year, you truly helped us make history and those are moments I will cherish with me
Thank you for everything Spurs
Soooooooo the tone of this message sure makes it sound like there won’t be a big-money move from Spurs to purchase Grace from Manchester United this summer. That’s probably to be expected — United seemed more than happy to dump her off to Spurs on loan last summer when she didn’t appear to have many chances in their first team, but she’s emerged as an incredible talent and it’s no wonder Manchester United don’t want to part with her. If I had to guess, I’d say Spurs almost certainly made inquiries about a transfer for Grace, but they went nowhere, probably because United don’t want to sell to a team that is emerging as a rival in the WSL table.
I also wonder if it took her so long to post this farewell because there might have been a genuine chance that something could’ve been worked out to keep her at Tottenham this coming season. The fact that it’s taken this long to get something like this suggests it wasn’t necessarily a foregone conclusion that she was going to stay at United.
So I get it. But it SUCKS. She was SO GOOD and based on her comments she loved her time at Spurs. Now Robert Vilahamn will have to try and find a way to fill the Grace-shaped hole in Tottenham’s midfield, which is going to be difficult.
I’m sad, but I genuinely hope she gets more opportunities at United this upcoming season, because otherwise she’s wasted there.