Mary Earps told her days as England No.1 could be numbered by ex-Lionesses captain Steph Houghton amid fight to be PSG’s first-choice goalkeeper

Earps left Old Trafford to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer as she wished to get out of her comfort zone and win trophies with one of the best teams in Europe. However, the 31-year-old has endured a tough start to life in France. She conceded five goals over two legs in the Women’s Champions League qualifier against Juventus as the French giants suffered a shock exit from Europe. The player is now slowly losing her place in the PSG starting lineup as Polish custodian Katarzyna Kiedrzynek was named ahead of the English star in the club’s last two league clashes.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With the Lionesses looking to defend their European Championship title next year, questions have been raised over Earps’ future with the national team and her place in Sarina Wiegman’s lineups. Recently, Houghton opened up about the custodian’s future while warning that her poor performance in club football could cost her a place in the Lionesses starting XI.

  • WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

    On the Crossways podcast, Houghton and Ian Wright discussed about Earps’ chances in the England team. Wright said, “You know something I was going to say Steph, I’ve seen how Sarina moves and, you know, she says things and then she kind of changes her mind about, you know you have to be playing at your club to play, and then we’ve seen her play people who have not been playing a club. I think she might still play Mary on the vibe of well, she never let me down you know, she’s done so great for me. So, I’m going to still play her.”

    Houghton, however, disagreed as she said, “I don’t know, you know. I think I’ve got a bit of a feeling, maybe through my experience of that situation and the fact that Hannah Hampton’s playing for Chelsea and she’s playing and she’s got a lot more experience before she came into the squad. And towards the end of the season when Mary got hurt at the game at Newcastle, Hannah came in and she kept the shirt while Mary was back fit. So I don’t know, I just feel as though there’s too many of them patterns emerged.”

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    WHAT NEXT?

    Hampton performed exceptionally well in the Blues’ Women’s Super League opener last month as they breezed past Aston Villa 1-0 before thrashing Crystal Palace 7-0. The 23-year-old is slowly making a strong case to become England’s No.1 replacing Earps.