Keira Walsh

Keira Walsh

File:Keira Walsh 20181009 01 cropped.jpg Walsh with England in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Keira Fae Walsh
Date of birth	(1997-04-08) 8 April 1997
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Barcelona
Number	21
Youth career
2008–2014	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014	Blackburn Rovers	9	(3)
2014–2022	Manchester City	118	(6)
2022–	Barcelona	4	(0)
International career‡
2010–2012	England U15	4	(0)
2013	England U17	9	(2)
2014–2016	England U19	9	(0)
2016	England U20	0	(0)
2017	England U23	4	(0)
2017–	England	52	(0)
2021	Great Britain	3	(0)
Medal record Women's football Representing England UEFA Women's Championship Winner 2022 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 16 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Keira Fae Walsh (born 8 April 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barcelona and England. She is considered both a playmaker and a defensive midfielder. She has previously played for Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, and Great Britain at the Olympics. With Manchester City, she topped the Women's Super League in 2016, won the FA Cup three times, and won the Continental Cup four times, including a domestic treble. She was part of the England team that won the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, and was named player of the match in the final.

Walsh became a first-team regular at City as a teenager during their 2014 campaign, playing a key role in helping the team secure their first Continental Cup. She stayed with the side for eight seasons, briefly captaining them in 2021, and in March 2022 became the second player to reach 200 appearances for them; when she left to join Barcelona later that year, she jointly held City's record for number of appearances and set a world-record fee for a female footballer.

She represented England for their age-group teams from the age of twelve before making her senior debut in 2017, for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying, and starting as captain in a match a year later. She was named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2022 Euro. She has been described as one of the best midfielders in the world and nicknamed "WonderWalsh".

Early years

Keira Fae Walsh was born on 8 April 1997 in Rochdale to Peter and Tracy Walsh, and was raised by the Pennines in Syke, a rural suburb of the town. Here she practised football with her father on the field across from their house from about the age of five. She played for local side Pearson Juniors under-7 boys', then Samba Stars boys' – both coached by the father of her primary school best friend, who initially took her along – until she turned eleven.

Walsh attended Haslingden High School and Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Sixth Form, both in Rossendale; after the Lionesses won the 2022 Euro, local bus company Rosso, which runs between Rochdale and Rossendale, named a bus after Walsh. Haslingden High School had girls' football teams in the first few year groups, which Walsh played for, reaching a national final. She joined Manchester City, the team she and her family support, in July 2014, when she was seventeen; City sent her to St Bede's College in Manchester to finish her A-Levels while she trained and played with them.

Though a dedicated Manchester City fan, having had pet fish named after Shaun Goater and Nicolas Anelka, Walsh was inspired as a child by Spanish football, in part due to having family in Spain and often playing in the country when visiting them. In a period of Walsh's youth when City were less successful, her father would encourage her to watch Barcelona as guidance instead. She also briefly supported Arsenal, due to being a fan of Cesc Fàbregas, until she saw David Silva, who became her favourite player, with City.

In 2008, aged eleven, Walsh was named Greater Manchester Young Sports Person of the Year. She was ranked number 1 in the county in under-13 badminton between 2007 and 2009, having taken up the sport aged nine and representing Rochdale in it. She also played cricket for Lancashire, represented Rochdale in swimming and netball, and played football at the Blackburn Rovers Girls' Centre of Excellence. Walsh played for Lancashire in the 2013 English Schools' Football Association County Cup; eleven members of this Lancashire squad came from Blackburn Rovers. Following the 2022 Euro win, Walsh received the freedom of the borough of Rochdale.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Youth, 2008–14

Seeking a way to continue playing football when she could no longer play with boys, Walsh attended a Football Association (FA) Tesco Skills Centre based at Kingsway Park High School at the age of eleven. She then went to trials at the Blackburn Rovers Girls' Centre of Excellence, put forward by her childhood coach and encouraged by good performances at the Skills Centre, and joined them in 2008. She played for Blackburn Rovers in their age-group teams from under-12 through under-17. Though she began playing as a right-footed left-back, and then a centre-half, she moved to the central midfield at Blackburn when a new coach came in for the under-14 team and suggested she try the position.

With the Blackburn youth teams, and despite playing in defense and midfield, Walsh was a prolific goalscorer, making four goals in six games in her first year at the club. She played for the under-17 team in the 2013 FA Girls' Youth Cup final against Arsenal, narrowly missing an opening goal, with Blackburn eventually losing the match. In their 2014 FA Youth Cup quarter-final against Sunderland, Walsh scored a hat-trick in thirteen minutes.

Senior, 2014

In February 2014, when she was sixteen, Walsh signed for Blackburn Rovers' first team until the end of the season, debuting as a half time substitute four days later. The club had suffered a poor start to the league that season, and the addition of Walsh was said to be key to maintaining their place in it. Still involved with the under-17 side, Walsh played in nine FA Women's Northern Premier League matches for the first team, scoring three goals, including the team's goal of the season – a "stunning" second goal against Derby County in March that brought Blackburn up from relegation. She also played for the team in the final of the Lancashire Women's Challenge Cup, said to be the best player in the match despite the team losing, and in the fourth round of the FA Women's Cup. She left both youth and senior Blackburn Rovers sides in 2014, picking up a Contribution Award for six seasons with them.

Manchester City

2014

Walsh began looking to join a Women's Super League (WSL) team shortly after she turned seventeen when she was still playing with the under-17 Blackburn Rovers side. She had been offered a place on Everton's development squad without trialling and was planning to join, despite Manchester City, the club she supports, preparing to enter the WSL and holding trials. Walsh's mother encouraged her to attend the trials for the City development squad in July 2014; before the session was complete, first team coach Nick Cushing, who had gone as an observer, asked to sign her to the main squad as their playmaking midfielder. Cushing would later say that Walsh has "the best football brain" of any player he has coached, adding that "some players are almost touched by God"; in response, Walsh deflected praise, saying that Cushing's coaching style benefits technical and tactical players.

Ten days after the City trials, in July 2014, Walsh made her senior debut for Manchester City as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Notts County. Too young for a professional contract, she officially trained with the development squad, for which she never made an appearance; by the end of the 2014 season she regularly had a starting position in the first team. She was also important within the City side that won the 2014 Continental Cup, starting in the final. Having not expected to play, she had initially told her parents not to travel for the game. She performed particularly well in it, "leaving the footballing world intrigued" by the unknown talent.

2015

In June 2015, Walsh signed her first senior contract with the club, though did not play between March and August this year due to an ankle injury. Manchester City added her to their 2015 Continental Cup squad when she recovered, but the FA "might have" lost the registration documents for the change, causing City to be briefly suspended for fielding an unregistered player before the matter was resolved. The team's quarter-final against Arsenal, which City lost, had been postponed due to the investigation. City still came second in the league in 2015, which also allowed them to compete in the Champions League the following year. A crucial part of his City plans since the start, Cushing made Walsh a vice-captain.

2016

The team were unbeaten in their 2016 league campaign; Walsh was injured again at the start of the season but worked her way back onto the squad and, in September, was described as their "unsung hero" by 90min. On 9 November 2016, Walsh scored her first goal for City, a long-range strike from outside the area, in a 1–0 victory against Brøndby IF in the first leg of the last-16 tie in their debut Champions League. Two days later, she extended her contract with City through 2020. For the 2015–16 season, Walsh was nominated for the PFA Women's Young Player of the Year award; she would see further nominations for this award every year through the 2018–19 season.

2017

With Manchester City, Walsh won all three women's domestic titles over what would be a regular 2016–17 season (2016 FA WSL, 2016 WSL Cup, 2016–17 FA Women's Cup); the WSL ran calendar year seasons until 2017, curtailing the season in spring to start a new one in autumn that matched European schedules. For the 2017 FA Cup final, in which City defeated Birmingham 4–1, Walsh (who didn't score) was named player of the match, saying only that "it was a real team effort" and that it was special to win a trophy at Wembley.

2017–18

File:Keira Walsh (cropped).jpg

Walsh with Manchester City in 2017

At the end of 2017, also accounting for the previous season, Walsh was listed at number 98 on The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World list by The Offside Rule/The Guardian. The team went out of the Women's FA Cup in the semi-finals in 2018.

2018–19

City reclaimed the FA Cup in 2019, defeating West Ham in the final 3–0, with Walsh scoring the opening goal. In September 2019, Walsh was shortlisted for the dream team FIFA FIFPRO The Best Women's World 11, the only English midfielder to be so.

2019–20

With doubts about her career following criticism at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Walsh did not want to play football in England, thinking she was not what the domestic fans wanted to see in a holding midfielder. Prior to the 2019–20 season, she handed in a transfer request amid interest from Lyon and Atlético Madrid. On 29 July, she withdrew her transfer request; Cushing had convinced her to stay by encouraging her and joking that he would dress like Pep Guardiola to be more like him. Cushing said that Walsh was integral to City's system and it was imperative the club retain her, while adapting to other transfers. He re-emphasised Walsh's importance to the side after she scored a goal from distance then created the opportunity for a second in an October 2019 match that saw them defeat Birmingham 3–0.

During a Manchester derby in the League Cup on 20 October 2019, Walsh was given a straight red card for a tackle on Manchester United's Kirsty Hanson. City lost 0–2, with Walsh later reflecting that her conduct came from being a fan of her team and frustrated that their rivals were winning, and that she had since come to practice more control over her support than she displayed in the match. She signed a new three-year contract on 7 February 2020.

2020–21

Walsh started her 2020–21 pre-season with City by scoring a goal in a 6–0 win before they contested, but lost, the Women's FA Community Shield in its first edition since 2008.

In November 2020, Walsh scored the third goal for City in an 8–1 win over Bristol. At the end of 2020, Walsh was ranked 62 on the Offside Rule/The Guardian's list of the 100 best female footballers in the world. In March 2021, Walsh scored the sole goal on captain Steph Houghton's 200th cap, taking City to a ninth consecutive WSL victory; later in March, Houghton picked up an injury that kept her out for over a month, and Walsh took up the armband as City captain.

2021–22

With Walsh one of several injured players out at the start of the 2021–22 season, Manchester City began poorly. Walsh returned to playing in October 2021 and, in November, scored a powerful strike against Leicester from the edge of the box, which was shortlisted for the WSL goal of the month. In March 2022, Walsh made her 200th appearance for the club, becoming the second player, after Houghton, to reach a double century. In August 2022, she was ranked the sixth-best UEFA Women's Player of the Year.

Manchester City under Gareth Taylor (who replaced Cushing as manager in 2020), and particularly in the 2021–22 season, played Walsh differently; her midfield role was less defined and her passing metrics, as well as "almost all of her metrics around attacking play", "dropped significantly" as she was encouraged to sit and pass in defense. Podcast The Offside Rule said in early July 2022 that this change had left Walsh, a playmaker now limited in opportunities to progress play and superfluous defensively, "with rather little to do."

2022–23

After playing two Champions League qualification matches for City in August 2022, as part of the 2022–23 pre-season, Walsh left the club in September after eight years; eight major trophies; and 211 appearances, the joint-record number of appearances for the club (with Houghton) at the time. In a post on Instagram, Walsh wrote: "Even though I will no longer play in the shirt, City is in my blood and always will be."

Barcelona

Transfer and 2022–23

With one year left on her City contract, Walsh again showed interest in leaving the club following the 2021–22 season, with interest from "several top European clubs" including Chelsea and Barcelona. Over the summer of 2022, several key members of City's women's squad left either through free transfer or retirement. Though women's football rarely drew transfer fees, both Chelsea and Barcelona made Manchester City large offers for Walsh. Walsh wanted to join Barcelona, and the club felt the need to find a replacement for their injured star midfielder Alexia Putellas; they reportedly made four offers. The last of Barcelona's offers, around £400,000 (up to €470,000 including bonuses), a world-record fee, was accepted shortly before the transfer deadline on 7 September 2022. This was considerably higher than the previous women's transfer record, set when Pernille Harder transferred for £250,000 in 2020, and Barcelona's previous record signing of a female player, set when they purchased Mapi León for €50,000 in 2017. Walsh signed to Barcelona for three years, joining England teammate Lucy Bronze, who also moved from City to Barcelona in 2022.

International career

Youth

In November 2009, Walsh, aged twelve, received her first call-up to train for the England under-15 girls, making her the youngest person on the squad. She played for them in 2010 and 2011. Though she would go on to feature in the England squads for all youth age groups, she did not get a chance to thrive in them, only participating in one major competition. She later reflected that the lack of youth experience may have contributed to her being unprepared for the criticism players receive at international tournaments when she joined the senior squad.

Moving into the under-17 women's squad as its vice-captain, Walsh was considered a key player in the 2013 season. During the July 2013 women's Nordic Tournament she scored two goals, including one in the first minute of the play-off match against Iceland. In November 2013, she was named as a forward in the squad for the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship (held in December 2013), helping England through to the knockout stages and a fourth-place finish in the competition.

Walsh was then selected to the under-19 England squad while still playing at under-17 club level. Called to training with the second team in January 2014, she made a competitive appearance for the first team a week later. In the youth squads, Walsh was considered the class clown to Leah Williamson's serious captain. After under-17, Walsh was not always brought in for training camps and, when she was sixteen and in the under-19 outfit, was told by coach Mo Marley that she needed to work harder to be considered for progression. Walsh has said missing out on selections at this age and Marley's warning, which she felt was tough love and indicative of Marley believing in her, "was a massive career defining moment". Realising she did not want to lose out on football, Walsh began to apply herself.

She served as under-19 captain for some of their appearances at the March 2015 La Manga Tournament in Spain, and wore the armband again after returning from injury for 2016 U19 Euro preparation matches in September and November 2015. She then picked up another ankle injury while on international duty with the under-19 side in La Manga in March 2016. Walsh was named in the squad for an under-20 tournament in September 2016, but had to withdraw. With the under-23 squad, Walsh played in La Manga and won the Nordic Tournament in 2017.

Senior

England

File:Keira Walsh & Tobin Heath (32348431907) (cropped).jpg

Walsh (left) and Tobin Heath in a England v United States match in 2019

In November 2017, Walsh was called up to the senior England squad for the first time, along with Williamson, by interim coach Marley for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification campaign. She received her first cap that month in England's first match against Kazakhstan, providing an assist in the fifteenth minute. During the campaign she was one of two senior Lionesses (with winner Beth Mead) to be nominated for the 2018 England Women's International Young Player of the Year award. Walsh, aged 21 and the youngest player on the squad, captained England for the first time during the qualifiers, starting with the armband in England's final match against Kazakhstan in September 2018, in her seventh senior appearance; she was substituted off in the second half, handing the armband to replacement Bronze.

Walsh has represented England in several SheBelieves Cup tournaments. The team came second on Walsh's debut appearance in 2018, losing to United States by an own goal off the keeper. In 2019, Walsh was part of the team that won the competition, providing the long-range assist for the final goal. England then came third in 2020. After Walsh, awarded a starting position due to injuries of several more experienced midfielders, helped the team to victory in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, manager Phil Neville said that she was probably the best midfielder at the time, praising her development within the squad after he had been tough on her to provoke this.

In May 2019, Walsh was selected as part of England's 2019 Women's World Cup squad; her name was announced by DJ Monki as part of England's social-media facing squad announcement. In the opening games of the World Cup, Walsh did not play to her usual standards, but she continued to be picked to start, with Neville having faith in her game and her development; England fans, however, were heavily critical of her continued selection after the early weaker showing. Her performance in the semi-final against United States, which England lost, however, was seen as strong; she provided two long passes that produced Ellen White goals (one was disallowed) and sent a narrowly-saved "thunderbolt" strike at goal from 25 yards herself. Walsh felt that the criticism of her performances was deserved, saying she lacked focus, but said this did not stop it from affecting her. She considered quitting football because of it, working with sports psychologists to rebuild her enjoyment of the game.

Following the 2019 World Cup, Walsh became "an automatic starter for England, a name on the teamsheet that is never questioned". By October 2020, Walsh felt that her mentality was starting to thrive again, having still felt struggles in England training months after the World Cup. Preparing for more international fixtures through COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Walsh aimed to add goals and get more assists in her England game.

In June 2022, Walsh was named to the England squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 in July, which they won. As part of the promotions in the run-up to the tournament, an image of Walsh was projected on the facade of the National Gallery. She started every match and played all but five minutes, showing "classic understated dominance" throughout the tournament and being key to England reaching the final against Germany. In anticipation of the final it was reported that the outcome of the match could come down to whether Walsh or her contrasting counterpart Lena Oberdorf outperformed the other. In the final, Walsh provided the lauded pass for England's first goal scored by Ella Toone in the sixty-second minute; The New York Times covered the match by saying it "was Walsh's game". She was named player of the match and was subsequently included in the Team of the Tournament. Rated by various pundits to be instrumental in England winning the tournament, and described in the media as the unsung hero of the tournament and her team, other players and the media reacted with surprise when Walsh did not receive a nomination for the Ballon d'Or Féminin in August 2022.

England's next game after the 2022 Euro saw them qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in a 2–0 win over Austria; Walsh was named player of the match and included in manager Sarina Wiegman's press conference two days later, where she explained that she was performing well because Wiegman had "given [her] the confidence to go and play [her] game." With her appearance in the final qualification group game, another 10–0 win over Luxembourg, Walsh won her 50th England cap.

Various sports media and personalities have said that Walsh's role in the England squad is one that cannot be matched or replicated by other players. Football journalist Julien Laurens said on The Gab & Juls Show in September 2022 that Walsh is "the best player in the world, for [him]".

Great Britain

Walsh was part of the Great Britain women's football team at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in 2021. She said that interim coach Hege Riise was a calming influence for the team. Team GB went out in the quarterfinals, losing to the Matildas; Walsh took the first shot at goal in this match, a powerful strike that slammed against the bottom of the post. As the game went to extra time, Walsh again opened striking, with this attempt tipped over the top of the net by a fingertip save.

Style of play

If this contest at Wembley had been a sailing race, you would not have described Walsh as the best yachtswoman involved, nor the finest boat, but as the wind itself.

– Tom Garry, The Telegraph, in response to 7 October 2022 England 2–1 United States

Walsh plays for possession-based teams. Manchester City played Walsh as a 'number 6' holding midfielder and, in her last season with them, a utility and box-to-box midfielder. Though typically playing in the holding midfielder position, Walsh is "not a traditional holding English midfielder", with her game instead being consistently compared to that of Sergio Busquets. As has been said of Busquets, The Athletic has written that "Walsh is one of those players you might not see if you watch the game—but by watching her you see the game." As a regista (deep-lying playmaker), Walsh typically sets the tempo of matches she plays.

Walsh is statistically one of the most accurate passers in world football, and most often plays by passing. She is able to execute a large variety of passes equally over all distances and when under pressure, and has a high success rate of long passes into the final third. Not an attacking player, she is able to strike powerfully from distance but is instead typically key in her team's build-up play. Like Spanish midfielders, Walsh uses pausing tactics to her team's advantage, spending time with the ball before picking out a pass to draw the opposition out of position or determine the best play. She can also feint passes and make complete turns to break past markers and into space to have this time. With her frequent scans of the field, Walsh often receives the ball in a good position to retain possession or to use her first touch to get away from pressure. As an often highly-marked player, Walsh can use her movements to "drag opponents around" before passing to openings this has created. When acquiring the ball during opposition presses, she can break press and switch play to an attacking sequence.

When not with the ball, Walsh can be seen dictating direction of play, and moving to support players in possession. She can also provide defensive cover, shadowing opposition players to disrupt their play when they have possession and to allow her teammates space to progress in attack when on the ball. Though not often relied on to defend, she is effective in her defensive actions; more likely to intercept than tackle, her tackling success rate is still high. She is reliable for interceptions and recovering loose ball situations, and supporting the back line.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 October 2022

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackburn Rovers	2013–14	WPL Northern	9	3	1	0	0	0	—		1	0	11	3
Manchester City	2014	WSL 1	7	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		8	0
	2015		6	0	0	0	3	0	—		—		9	0
	2016		8	0	0	0	4	0	8	1	—		20	1
	2017		8	0	3	0	0	0	—		—		11	0
	2017–18		18	0	1	0	6	0	8	0	—		33	0
	2018–19	WSL	19	1	5	1	7	0	2	0	—		33	2
	2019–20		14	2	5	0	5	0	4	0	—		28	2
	2020–21		20	2	4	0	3	0	5	0	1	0	33	2
	2021–22		18	1	10	0	6	0	0	0	—		34	1
	2022–23		0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	—		2	0
	Total		118	6	28	1	35	0	29	1	1	0	211	8
Barcelona	2022–23	Primera División	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Career total			131	9	29	1	35	0	29	1	2	0	226	11

International

As of match played 11 October 2022

Year	England		Great Britain
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2017	1	0	N/A
2018	8	0	N/A
2019	17	0	N/A
2020	3	0	N/A
2021	5	0	3	0
2022	18	0	N/A
Total	52	0	3	0

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

• FA Girls' Youth Cup: runner-up 2013
• Lancashire Women's Challenge Cup: runner-up 2014

Manchester City

• FA Women's Super League: winner 2016, runner-up 2015, 2017, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21
• Women's FA Cup: winner 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, runner-up 2021–22
• FA Women's League Cup: winner 2014, 2016, 2018–19, 2021–22, runner-up 2017–18
• Ballon d'Or Club of the Year: 2021–22

England

• UEFA Women's Championship: 2022
• SheBelieves Cup: 2019
• Arnold Clark Cup: 2022

Individual

• Greater Manchester Young Sports Person of the Year: 2008
• Blackburn Rovers Girls' Centre of Excellence Overall Achievement Trophy: 2010
• Blackburn Rovers Girls' Centre of Excellence International Recognition Award: 2010
• Blackburn Rovers Special Achievement Award: 2014
• PFA Women's Young Player of the Year nominee: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
• PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year nominee: 2018–19
• UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award: sixth 2021–22
• UEFA Women's Championship Team of the Tournament: 2022
• England Women's Player of the Year: third 2021–22
• Freedom of the borough of Rochdale (announced)

Records

• Youngest player to start a match as captain of England in the FA era: (4 September 2018)
  • Youngest player to start a match as captain of England in the 21st century
  • Youngest player to start a match as captain of the England women's team in the FA era
• Most expensive women's football player in the world: ~£400,000 (7 September 2022)

Personal life

Walsh is an advocate for mental health support. She has a West Highland White Terrier called Narla. She and Williamson came up through their football careers together, from under-15 to their first senior call-ups, becoming best friends.

See also

• List of England women's international footballers
• List of Manchester City W.F.C. players

External links

• Profile at the FC Barcelona website
• Profile at the Football Association website
• Keira Walsh – UEFA competition record