The scoresheet is becoming a likely place for her to be in recent times, as 20 year-old Grace Clinton found the back of the net again last weekend, this time with a 43rd minute header that saw her open the scoring in Tottenham’s 1-1 clash to Everton at Brisbane Road Stadium. Robert Vilahamn’s decision to keep Clinton on the left saw her continue her stellar form out wide, with successful dribbles and passes into the final third both at 7 a piece, Clinton proved to be a real threat to the Evertonian defence.

Following a loan spell with the FA Championship side Bristol City in the back half of the 2022/23 season, Clinton proved an immediate presence for the Robins, after scoring a stoppage-time winner in her debut appearance that saw her side take home three points in a 3-2 win against Coventry United. Bristol City earned league promotion after topping the Championship table, with Clinton proving herself in her 15 appearances for the club, capping off her time on loan with six goals in her account, along with being awarded Bristol’s Young Player of the Season award at season’s close. Earning national team caps across Under-17, Under-19, and Under-23s levels, combined with an impressive start to the WSL season seeing her with two goals and an assist in her four games as a Lily-white, Grace Clinton is becoming a league presence.

In terms of her side, Robert Vilahamn’s Tottenham Hotspur side have come out with impressive trot in the opening fixtures of the Barclays Women’s Super League, currently sitting at 3rd on the table after game week five. In the absence of January signing Bethany England, Vilahamn’s side set out with gaps to fill, but with an impressive three game winning streak capped off with a draw at home over the weekend, 20 year-old Grace Clinton has been pivotal to the Spurs success.

The Liverpool-born midfielder is currently on loan from Marc Skinner’s Manchester United side, after signing a three year contract with the Red Devils in July of 2022. Starting all five games of the WSL season at the Spurs thus far, Clinton has already added two goals and an assist to her Barclays WSL career. Clinton has proved impressive on the stat sheet as well, averaging 3 chances created per match, and performing at 86% passing efficiency, both across positional changes that have seen her in the middle, and out on the left. Clinton is proving threatening, so it came as no surprise when Sarina Wiegman announced the midfielder as a part of her October squad to face Belgium in the UEFA Nations League, making it her first senior call-up to England’s side. This opens up a very exciting discussion; what can Grace Clinton bring to the future of the Lionesses?

In the reign of Sarina Wiegman, there has been very little for England fans to complain about. After bringing football home in England’s most successful summer since 1966, Weigman’s European Champions came an arm’s length away from global glory at the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, falling short in a 1-0 final loss to Spain. Despite the tournament coming to a tearful end, there was much for English football fans to anticipate eagerly, once the dust had settled. 

Amidst the domination came an electric forward duo, just beginning to flex their muscles; Alessia Russo, 24, and Lauren Hemp, 23, with a shared 6 goals between them throughout Wiegman’s experimental English front two. The talking point of the campaign however, came with an electric major tournament debut from Lauren James, adding three goals and three assists to her World Cup account, all before receiving a red card that saw her in the stands for both England’s quarter, and semi-final. The midfield question that then followed has been one that flooded the lounge rooms and bar tables nation-wide, questions asked of Ella Toone, the return of Fran Kirby, and the worrying threat they face in falling out of Olympic Qualification.

Despite Keira Walsh returning to full flight following a short spell on the sidelines due to a calf injury, there is no doubt Wiegman’s side was short of an attacking presence at the top of the triangle during their Nations League clashes this October. A usually poised English side seemed to be lacking attacking conviction, consequently seeing a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in their most recent group fixture. The Lionesses now face a very difficult task ahead, currently sitting at third in their group, it poses the very crucial question; who is best to fill England’s number 10 spot?

England have options filling their squad list, but it is never too early to ask questions of a squad’s youth. With the shadow of the Euros Success still looming, the pressure on Wiegman to put out her best starting eleven has only increased. Fran Kirby’s well accoladed career has proved crucial in England’s success over recent years, with a May surgery disappointingly counting her out of the summer’s World Cup campaign. With a technical proficiency that exceeds most, there is no discounting just how crucial Kirby is in orchestrating England to top performances. But as well as Kirby passes, so does time, and it leaves England with the impending question of who will be the next star to lead the top of their midfield triangle. Grace Clinton is a name that I’d be urgently advising any young girl to watch out for now, before it is the one that they want on the back of their shirt.

 An outside-of-the-box screamer in Tottenham’s  3-1 win on the road against Brighton & Hove Albion has seen Clinton nominated for the Barclays WSL Goal of the Month, in just her third game as a Lilywhite. Clinton’s clinical ball control and spatial vision is excelling prematurely, instantly showing impressive on-ball physicality, with Tottenham manager Robert Vilahamn telling BBC that “in the future, she’s [Clinton] going to start as a 10 in the national team, I’m quite sure of that”.

As one of the youngest players in the league, Clinton seems far from out of her depth, not only keeping her head above water amidst some of the league’s best, but showing a powerful confidence that is so hard to come by in developing players. Despite being on a season loan, the midfielder has proved orchestral in the brand of football being built by Vilahamn at Hotspur Way, and it is safe to say that for 20-year old Grace Clinton, there is going to be plenty more from where that came from. 

The threat of missing next Summer’s Olympics weighs heavy on the mind of England fans, but the silver lining is that the future proves bright. Mentions must be awarded to Lauren James, the Chelsea star among one of the many talents proving electric in her short spell with England’s senior team. A concussion protocol saw James miss England’s Belgian fixtures, the 22 year-old only assumed to make her fit return in December, when England face the Netherlands at Wembley Stadium. Manchester City’s Jess Park was awarded minutes during the Nations League, and so much can be said about the stellar form that Chelsea defender Niamh Charles is finding herself in. With James and Clinton both excelling in the number 10 position at a club level, whilst showing their respective confidence out wide, it seems a partnership too good to waste. Is it time for Wiegman to trust the youth of the future? Maybe.

Is this just the beginning for Grace Clinton? Absolutely.