Park emerges as Man City's midfield maestro in WSL title race

Jess Park endured a slow start to the season.

The Manchester City forward turned midfielder has mostly been limited to substitute appearances in the Women's Super League.

But she made her first start of the campaign in City's seismic 1-0 win at title rivals Chelsea last month — impressing on the big occasion and providing the assist for Khadija Shaw's decisive strike.

Ahead of today's clash with her old club Everton, we look at the role Park could play across the remainder of the campaign.

Waiting in the wings

Park has been limited to just 249 minutes in the WSL this season — but she is starting to make her mark.

Playing predominantly as a No10 behind Shaw, the 22-year-old has shown glimpses of her creativity and vision in brief cameos throughout the campaign.

Park has had to be patient after returning to City following a loan spell with the Toffees last term.

But with some positional adjustments and gradually increasing game time, she appears to be settling into a nice rhythm.

After the win over Chelsea, Citizens manager Gareth Taylor said: "She [Park] is so good at driving between lines.

"Jess has always been a player that has really interested me. She's had to be patient and her training levels and her attitude have been first class. 

"We've adjusted her position a little but I've always felt she's capable of playing in between the lines."

Team player

Successive cup outings at the start of February proved beneficial for Park.

In the Conti Cup and Women's FA Cup — both 1-0 wins away at Tottenham and Arsenal respectively — the Yorkshire native started in midfield.

Taylor clearly liked what he saw, keeping her in the starting line-up for what was without doubt the biggest game of the season at Chelsea.

As well as her ability to create chances, Park has also demonstrated defensive qualities — harrying the opposition and often winning the ball back in advanced areas.

Perhaps surprisingly, given her history as an attacker, she ranks in the top 1% of WSL players for passes blocked per 90 (2.1) minutes over the last year.

And it is no coincidence that City have kept three straight clean sheets since the England international came into the team.

Though they were already solid defensively, there is now a nice balance to the side out of possession with Park in the starting XI.

Big ambitions

Park's reward for her impressive recent form was a place in Sarina Wiegman's latest England squad.

She came on as a second-half substitute in the Lionesses' friendly wins over Austria and Italy, replacing Tottenham ace Grace Clinton on both occasions.

Returning to the England setup is a big step forward for a player who was very much on the periphery at her club as recently as a few weeks ago.

The target now for Park will be to establish herself as a regular starter for both City and England.

If the Citizens' No16 can continue her recent performances between now and the end of the season, she could have a big say in the outcome of the WSL title race.