Blaine pleased with Shaw’s progress at Man City

While it has taken time for national striker Khadija Shaw to adjust to the rigours of the English game, new interim national senior head coach Vin Blaine says that he is pleased so far with her progress for new club Manchester City.

In a year that saw her capture the golden boot for her former French club Bordeaux and secure her move to England, Shaw, 24, was ranked 55th on this year’s list of the top 100 women’s football in the world, by English newspaper The Guardian earlier this month. Her 2021 ranking is six spots lower than last year’s list when she was ranked within the top 50 (49th).

Shaw has scored six goals in all competitions so far, including two in league play, and Blaine who helped to discover her talent said that it was expected that she would need the time to find her bearings.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that Khadija Shaw is a fantastic midfield player. That’s where she started out. Now (that) she left France and going into a new environment, it’s sort of a different approach to the game. I think she is doing well. She is now sharing room with another forward there, so she is not going to get the playing time that she would normally get,” Blaine said.

FINDING HER WAY

In her final season with Bordeaux, she captured the Division One women’s scoring title with 22 league goals, the first time in a decade that the top scorer in the French league did not come from powerhouses Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). It was on the back of that season that Manchester City signed her in the summer to a three-year deal and even with having to deal with a lack of consistent playing time, Blaine says that she is finding her way.

“I spoke to her. She is quite happy. I didn’t expect her to come and just make a bang right away. But I think that she has held her own and she is doing quite well,” Blaine said

In this year’s assessment, The Guardian stated that they expect her 2020/21 season form to be back in short order as she continues to settle.

“Her slight drop from 2020 possibly emphasises she is still settling into life with a struggling City team this season. Only two league goals so far for City but a hat-trick in the FA Cup showed her ruthless side and there’s no doubt it will click sooner rather than later, given her natural ability,” they said.

Shaw recently returned to the side on December 12, after missing the previous three games because of injury, to provide the game-winning assist for Ellen White as Manchester City defeated Birmingham City 3-2 in their FA Women’s Super League fixture. City are currently in sixth place in the league with 13 points, 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal after nine games.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com

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