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When rumours emerged that Manchester United were interested in Bayern Munich goalkeeper Mala Grohs this summer, there was a little bit of bewilderment among fans. Yes, the Red Devils had just lost Mary Earps, England’s star shot-stopper leaving on a free and heading out to join Paris Saint-Germain. But the feeling was that they didn’t need to go out and find a suitable replacement because they already had one in their ranks. They already had Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
That was a feeling mainly shared by the die-hards, as they were the only ones who saw Tullis-Joyce in action in her first season at the club. With Earps starting every single league game but also, somewhat surprisingly, getting the nod even in the early stages of the FA Cup, her back-up was only able to showcase her talents in the League Cup group stage, keeping two clean sheets in four fixtures before United were knocked out. But that those who watched Tullis-Joyce were so adamant that she had it in her to be the club’s No.1 goalkeeper said a lot.
Through the early weeks of the 2024-25 season, Tullis-Joyce has only justified such beliefs. Ranking very highly, if not highest, among goalkeepers in the Women’s Super League for most key metrics, she has kept three clean sheets in four games and conceded just one goal. Now, her biggest test to date will come this weekend, as United take on an Arsenal side that were certainly admirers of her predecessor.
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Getty ImagesPatiently waiting
After playing two seasons as the starting goalkeeper for Reims, the French side that has a knack for spotting and developing young talent, Tullis-Joyce then went over to the U.S. with the Seattle Reign and became the No.1 for one of the NWSL’s biggest and best teams. When she arrived at United as a 26-year-old with four full seasons in two of the world’s top leagues then, it baffled some that she couldn’t really get a look in.
Of course, she was never going to come in and totally usurp Earps, who has won the last two FIFA Best Goalkeeper awards and played in back-to-back major finals with England. But that she wasn’t getting more action in the cups surprised some.
“She’s a fantastic goalkeeper but she’s also behind the world’s No.1 goalkeeper. That’s the level,” head coach Marc Skinner said at the time.
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Getty ImagesLearning from the best
If there was one big silver lining of that lack of game time for the American, it was that she spent a whole year learning from a goalkeeper, in Earps, with a ton of experience and top-class quality.
“Mary is a good laugh, a good personality and she also very much set the standards,” Tullis-Joyce said before the start of the season, praising the “warm welcome” that the England star and Safia Middleton-Patel, the young Wales international, gave her as she joined United’s goalkeeping alliance.
“While we had a laugh, we were also very serious and got our job done. We were able to progress as a group even though we were all three different goalkeepers. That’s what has prepared me for this season as well.”
“Phallon’s had a great year under Mary,” United striker Rachel Williams noted. “She’s been watching, she’s been learning and in training, she’s just an unbelievable professional. She keeps going every day. I think for Phallon now this year, we don’t want her to feel like it’s pressure, like she’s got shoes to replace, because what Mary did was absolutely fantastic. But this is now where Phallon can make this her legacy, her journey.”
From Earps, Tullis-Joyce will have surely learned a lot about the pressures that come with being the No.1 goalkeeper for a club like Manchester United, too. While she’s no stranger to the highest level, the scrutiny will certainly be different with the Red Devils.
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Getty ImagesMaking her mark
But Tullis-Joyce has been dealing with that pressure rather impressively so far. Through four WSL games, the 28-year-old has kept three clean sheets, conceded just once and boasts the best save percentage in the division, at a remarkable 93.3%. Only Brighton’s Sophie Baggaley, another former back-up to Earps at United, has a bigger positive differential between expected goals against and actual goals conceded.
“Phallon is the best shot-stopper I have ever worked with in my life,” Skinner proclaimed before this season’s start, having already dubbed her as a potentially world-class goalkeeper midway through the last. “She is an incredible footballer, an incredibly intelligent human, thoughtful and I’m really looking forward to showing you what she can do for this team. She is a big-time goalkeeper. That’s why I brought her here. She will lead naturally.”
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GettyChanging opinions
Could such remarkable form perhaps even lead to international recognition? There has only ever been one formal confirmation that Tullis-Joyce is on the radar of the United States women’s national team, that back in June 2022 when she was included on a 59-player provisional roster for the CONCACAF W Championship.
Her lack of individual recognition is indicative of the sheer talent the U.S. has to choose from in the goalkeeping position, but also of the rather unorthodox route to the top of the game she has taken.
Tullis-Joyce had to leave her home country to really carve out that path, moving to the French second-tier when she wasn’t chosen in the 2019 NWSL Draft. For whatever reason, her potential wasn’t spotted by those in the U.S., but instead by Amandine Miquel, the current Leicester City boss who signed Tullis-Joyce at Reims. When going through the process of the move, Miquel reached out to a coach in the U.S. to ask about the goalkeeper, but didn’t receive particularly good feedback. Fortunately, it didn’t put the Frenchwoman off.
Fast-forward a few years, Tullis-Joyce was back in the U.S. and shining for Seattle Reign, marking herself out as one of the best goalkeepers in the NWSL. Miquel reached out to the coach she had spoken to before, who was on the USWNT staff, and they were happy enough to concede that they were wrong on this occasion.
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GettyNew regime
New USWNT coach Emma Hayes has called up plenty of young and uncapped players in her time in charge to date, particularly in the last international window. Six players in her latest squad were yet to play for the senior team, while a further four had fewer than 10 caps.
Another uncapped name would be added after the first game of that window too, a 3-1 win over Iceland, when goalkeeper Jane Campbell had to withdraw and Mandy Haught of the Utah Royals was brought in. Indeed, it doesn’t feel beyond the realm of possibility that Tullis-Joyce could do similar if she keeps up this form.
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Getty ImagesMaintaining high standards
It is that level of performance, rather than international ambitions, that will be the focus for the shot-stopper, though. The American was bullish and confident when speaking to media before the WSL season began, emphasising how eager she was to show everyone what she is about after a year on the bench.
“I just want my personality to show on the field,” she said. “I want to show my work ethic and have a strong foundation for the team to build on. I want to show my communication skills and just own it. I want to be a strong force at the back. No matter what happens, I want my team-mates to know I’m there for them.”
She’s certainly done that to date and, on Sunday, she’ll hope to continue in that vein as United take on Arsenal in a game that feels like the first real litmus test when it comes to assessing the level of threat the Red Devils can present in the WSL this season.
Given the key departures they suffered in the summer – which included No.1 goalkeeper Earps, top-scorer Nikita Parris and captain Katie Zelem – it was hard to really make really positive predictions about United ahead of the season, but Tullis-Joyce is making sure the impact of at least one of those big losses isn’t been felt as strongly as it could’ve.
“We were incredibly lucky to have Mary Earps,” head coach Skinner said last month. “But (now) are lucky to have Tullis-Joyce.”
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