Maya Le Tissier enjoyed a dream debut for Manchester United Women over the weekend, scoring two goals. The Red Devils secured a 4-0 victory over Reading in our season’s opening game. The 20-year-old came to the club from Brighton having been there for the previous two seasons. Le Tissier is a versatile player who has adapted to playing a number of positions in her career so far. Touted as being a future star; she was named in GOAL’s top 10 best young footballers in the world in 2021.
How much do we know about United’s newest star in the making? Here we take a look at everything you need to know.
Early Years
Maya Le Tissier was born in Guernsey. In her early years, she began playing football at her local boys’ club and was coached by her father. As she grew older and with no girls’ team on the island, she was forced to fly to Hampshire twice a month to play for the county team.
In 2018, she signed for Brighton and Hove Albion, joining their academy. The first team beckoned quickly and she debuted for the club on December 5th, 2018, in the League Cup against Crystal Palace followed by her League debut four days later against Chelsea. Le Tissier scored her first competitive goal against Bristol City the following year. She would go on to make 58 appearances for the Seagulls scoring two goals.
A defender by trade though initially started out in more attacking roles. It was at Brighton that she established herself in the centre of the defence; before being converted to a right back by former manager Hope Powell. Le Tissier adapted well to this position with Powell promoting her athleticism and levels of fitness.
A Dream Debut
In July 2022, Le Tissier signed a three-year deal to join Manchester United Women after the club triggered her release clause. This was reported to be between £50-60,000. She grabbed all the headlines in our first game of the Women’s Super League season by scoring a looping backheel shot over Reading’s goalkeeper Grace Moloney before claiming a second with a header from the corner. Her ability to look for the forward pass whilst playing in the defence was a key highlight in this game and working well together in her partnership with Millie Turner.
“The best thing about Maya is that she takes everything in her stride. For her to play in front of her dad [Darren], all these fans, score two goals and play as well as she did, is a dream debut for her. In lots of moments today, she was really mature and aggressive when she needed to be. We’re not just going to get goals from her but solid performances from the back and progression with the ball. She has forward-playing ability and can strike the ball really well. Her passing range is excellent. Her maturity and concentration and all these things – she has a lot of the tools.”
Marc Skinner (Manchester United Women’s Manager) via BBC
Future England Star
If Le Tissier continues to perform the way she did in the first game for the rest of the season, then there is a very good chance she will earn a place in the England women’s World Cup squad next summer. She has played for England at numerous age groups and captained the Under 15s and then Under 17s leading them to the European Championships without conceding a goal. Le Tissier has also represented the Under 19s and Under 23s but has yet to make her debut for the senior side.
With already an abundance of talent in form of the Rachel Daly, Demi Stokes, Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze in this England side, Le Tissier has had to wait for her time to shine and will surely achieve this one day.
Manager Marc Skinner was full of praise for his newest signing after the Reading game and said she can become “a real star in the future”. The fans will be hoping to see another excellent display when we travel away to West Ham on Sunday.