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Manchester United Women may have finally found their replacement for Alessia Russo in the form of new signing, Elisabeth Terland.
The Norwegian joined from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer and notched her first goals in the famous red shirt as she grabbed a well-taken striker’s double in the 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Her performance led her boss Marc Skinner to lavish praise on his new striker, claiming she was “incredible, immense and intense”. He also asserted she had certain traits that were comparable to her compatriot, Erling Haaland, as they both have an absolute drive to find the back of the net.
Terland started off her career in her native Norway but in 2022 she left for English shores, where she joined Brighton and scored 23 goals in 50 appearances for the Seagulls.
She is also a seasoned international despite only being 23 years old, having played 34 times for her country, scoring nine goals.
The Athletic have taken a deep dive into what she can potentially bring to United over the next few years and it is an exciting prospect.
“The two killer blows dealt in ruthless fashion” on Sunday afternoon should be no surprise to any fan who has followed her career to date as she “carried Brighton through the 2023-24 WSL season to a ninth-place finish, scoring half of their 26 league goals and finishing joint-second in the Golden Boot rankings with Chelsea’s Lauren James.”
Her manager was full of praise after the match claiming, “she slows the moment and seizes the opportunity under the most immense pressure. That’s the beauty of her. I’ve never seen a player dispatch with such calmness. (Former England striker) Ellen White was the same in the moments when it counted.”
United were attracted to bringing the player in this summer due to her “football intelligence, positioning, movement in the box and clinical finishing as key strengths.”
Terland is a classic out-and-out number nine who scores the majority of her goals from between the width of the posts and the majority of her shots take place inside the penalty area.
The Scandinavian’s former boss at Brighton, Mikey Harris, has also lavished praise on United’s new striker in the past when he stated, “she trains really well, super-professional. I can’t speak highly enough of her as a human being.”
Despite being described as a shy personality, she has settled in well at the club according to sources and this can only bode well in her search for more goals in this campaign.
Of course at 23 years of age, she is not the finished article. Terland still has “aspects of her game to work on, especially her hold-up play, one-v-one ability and left foot, but she is hungry to capitalise on her potential.”
Nonetheless, with three wins from three and a cup win over Liverpool, the Women’s team have got off to the perfect start to the campaign and if they are to achieve their goals this season, Terland will probably have a significant say on the matter.
Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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