The Bayern Munich star will miss games with Portugal and Spain, and her European Championships is even in doubt after undergoing knee surgery
England head into their first games of 2025 with a number of injury absentees. Lauren Hemp won't be flying down the wing as the Lionesses' new Nations League campaign begins, while the intriguing experiment at left-back that involved Alex Greenwood can't resume either, after both underwent knee surgery before Christmas. Sarina Wiegma's biggest selection issue, however, concerns the midfield and the lack of options she has to replace Georgia Stanway.
The Bayern Munich star became the third England regular to go under the knife when she, too, had a knee problem operated on at the end of January. The club said Stanway will miss "several months" due to the procedure, which throws her participation in this summer's European Championship into some doubt, but more pressingly rules her out of the Lionesses' tough upcoming fixtures. England visit Portugal on Friday, host Spain next week and have a double-header in April against a Belgium team that upset them in the last Nations League campaign.
For all the depth at Wiegman's disposal in the Lionesses' squad in general, there is a real lack of it in Stanway's No.8 role. So, who are her options to fill in for this February international window, and perhaps beyond? GOAL takes a look at some of the candidates…
Getty ImagesGrace Clinton
Arguably the most obvious contender for Stanway's place in midfield is Grace Clinton. The 21-year-old is most naturally a No.10, but she has played in the deeper role before under Wiegman, and impressed in doing so. Indeed, the England boss said with real confidence last week that she believes in the youngster's ability to thrive as a No.8.
Yet, while Clinton might be most people's pick for the position, her candidacy has flaws. The most significant of those is that she's not been playing a lot lately for Manchester United. Clinton made her first start of the year in the Women's Super League on Sunday, but did so as a right winger. She's not in a great rhythm when it comes to game time in general, never mind the fact she's not playing in that No.8 role – or even in midfield.
Still, she'll come into this camp with a spring in her step, having marked that first league start of 2025 with a goal as the Red Devils overcame real adversity to defeat Crystal Palace.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLaura Blindkilde Brown
If she had a little more experience under her belt at international level, Laura Blindkilde Brown might actually be the most popular pick to fill in for Stanway. The 21-year-old has played regularly in the No.8 role at Manchester City this season, including in five of her six Champions League starts, and has adapted well to a position that wasn't as familiar to her before she joined the club in January last year.
However, Blindkilde Brown only made her Lionesses debut in their last outing, against Switzerland in December. She's got a lot of senior club football on her CV despite her young age, having debuted for Birmingham City as a 16-year-old and then become a key player for Aston Villa, but is still establishing herself on the international stage. She's also not playing week-in, week-out in Manchester, though is getting a decent amount of minutes given the variety of competitions the team are in.
There will be opportunities in this Nations League campaign when Wiegman opts to give the young midfielder more experience, but she's unlikely to become the de facto starter in Stanway's absence at this early stage.
Getty ImagesJess Park
There is a real battle to become England's No.10. Unlike the No.8 role, there are a plethora of candidates for that position, with Clinton and Blindkilde Brown among them. Another in contention is Jess Park, but she, too, could be a player Wiegman considers dropping into a deeper role to cope with Stanway's absence.
Park has played a little further back at times with Man City and she has plenty of the attributes that are needed to succeed in the role – she's tenacious, she works hard and she's comfortable receiving the ball in all areas of the pitch.
However, it's still a position she doesn't play often enough, it's one that certain areas of her game aren't best suited for and it also stops her being able to impact the game as much from a creative standpoint, especially when compared to how she thrives in the attacking midfield role.
GettyElla Toone
In a similar vein to Clinton and Park, Ella Toone's primary position is in that No.10 role, but she is likely to be another player Wiegman is assessing when thinking about who to play deeper over this next week or so. It's not a position Toone has played a lot but, like Park, she has those battling qualities and the confidence on the ball to make it work to the best of her ability if indeed she was asked to adapt for the sake of the team.
Alternatively, perhaps Wiegman could deploy a more attack-minded midfield in the first game of this February international break, away at Portugal. While Francisco Neto's side should certainly be respected, having become a regular qualifier for major tournaments in recent years, they will be a team that the Lionesses expect to dominate – certainly more so than Spain, who they face a few days later.
As such, England could well cover for Stanway's absence in their first game of 2025 by lining up with two No.10s ahead of Keira Walsh, in the holding role. Given her electric recent form, that midfield would likely feature Toone and someone else, probably one of Park or Clinton. It would be a temporary solution, and one only suited to particular opponents, but is at least a potential answer to this problem for some games.
