In her debut article for Impetus, Sophie Puodzius analyses the career of Manchester City and England’s Jess Park, highlighting the versatility that marks her as arguably the most important young player in the country (17/5/24).
Above: Jess Park (left) celebrates after scoring in the Manchester derby earlier this season. Photo: Manchester City.
Jess Park is one of those young players who seems to have been around for ages. Still only 22, the East Yorkshire-born attacker has had the season of her life.
Park began her journey as part of a local boys’ team called the Elloughton Blackburn Swifts before joining the Hull College girls football team at around the age of 11. The Lioness showed her ability and maturity spending two years captaining York’s Regional Talent Clubs under 16s before joining Manchester City in 2017.
The attacker credits these experiences at the very start of her footballing journey with giving her a strong sense of leadership and mental strength allied to a detailed baptism into the demands of various positions and improving her vision on the pitch. From these humble beginnings have grown a player who is one of the Super League’s most adept young stars.
In her embryonic days with Manchester City, the youngster gained Champions League experience, starting a game against Lugano, assisting her team to secured a 4-0 victory. Park was deployed as a right winger and used her technical abilities to slip through a series of perfectly weighted balls into the path of striker Janine Beckie.
Still a teenager, Park made her mark on the biggest stage in the 2020 FA Cup Final. Coming on for City against Everton as a late substitute, the attacker used her dribbling abilities to withstand the Everton defenders challenge in order to slip an inch-perfect through ball to Georgia Stanway who slotted home. This was an early example of her awareness on the pitch in huge games and confidence in her ability to deliver vital passes with great precision and weight on the ball.
These attributes show the extensive impact that Park is able to have on the pitch even in a short period of time which has definitely contributed to her rapid advancements in recent years.
Last season, Park underwent a successful loan spell at Everton in order to gain crucial minutes and develop her game to the next level. The Toffees preferred to use her in a more attacking role than Manchester City which allowed her to be higher up the pitch and partake in set-pieces. This allowed the youngster’s dribbling skills to be taken to the next level, gliding past opponents to deliver crosses into the penalty area.
The attacker developed a strong partnership with defender Katrine Veje leading the pair to create overlapping runs to produce two-on-one situations in dangerous areas which troubled opposition defenders. During her spell with the Merseyside club, Park scored five goals and made nine assists before her loan spell was cut short by a shoulder injury which also caused her to miss out on the 2023 World Cup.
Internationally, Park has been extremely influential for England at multiple youth levels as she scored an incredible 19 goals in 19 appearances for the England under 19s squad.
As part of the England under-23 squad, Park started in games against Norway and France which allowed her to build up her international experience in preparation for her eventual transition into the senior Lionesses squad.
Her inevitable first senior call-up came in September 2022 for two friendlies against the USA and Czech Republic. Her current form has certainly caught the eye of England manager Sarina Wiegman, leading to further selections in February this year for two international friendlies and in April 2024 as part of England’s Euro 2025 qualification campaign.
The youngster’s role for England is, again different to the one she excels in for Manchester City. Park is positioned much higher up the pitch in the number 10 role and often drags other players out of position in order to create spaces for her teammates to utilise. Her dribbling skills and turns on the ball come into their own to be showcased are showcased as part of England’s attacking style. Additionally, Park’s speed is also deployed as she completes overlapping runs to link up with the experienced Lucy Bronze and Lauren James.
The attacker’s versatility has been emphasised further in her most recent performances for the Lionesses, which has seen Park evolve into an attacking midfielder where she can use her technical skills and advanced vision to drive the ball further up the pitch.
This shows why Park has become a regular fixture in the Lionesses team – she is an all-rounder who is able to impress in multiple positions across the attacking line.
Like her international role, the attacker’s role at club level is evolving as well, adding yet further strings to her bow. Now seen in the heart of Manchester City’s midfield, Park makes pivotal runs down the central to right-hand side channels of the pitch and take the ball under pressure. Her physicality and defensive qualities show that she is an extremely versatile midfielder.
Park is an integral part of City’s high press by charging at defenders, aiming to steal possession, and making vital interceptions. She has advanced quicker than many other players of her age due to her incredible vision on the pitch to spot gaps which she can exploit to the team’s advantage
The youngster links up well with right-winger Mary Fowler and centre-forward Bunny Shaw to create goal-scoring opportunities. Park and Fowler work together to produce overlapping runs down the right channel to overload the defensive structure. This creates space to provide pinpoint crosses for the prolific Shaw who has been a key factor in the club’s success this season.
This has been an extremely successful strategy as Park and Fowler boast 10 assists between them this season whilst Shaw has become Manchester City’s all-time record goal-scorer in a single season and crowned the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
Park can also score goals in major games at important times. Notably in front of a record crowd of 40,096 at the Etihad Stadium in the Manchester Derby where she scored two goals and provided an assist to secure City’s 3-1 win.
It is this combination of versatility, confidence, and key understandings with team-mates around her across the attacking third that undoubtedly establish Jess Park as one of the Super League’s most talented youngsters.
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