Izzy Christiansen is setting her sights on more than just a new Everton contract.
The England star’s deal expires next summer, but she has outlined her target to help Brian Sorensen’s side secure a long-awaited return to the Champions League.
“I joined Everton when I was 14 and made my first-team debut in the Champions League,” said Christiansen, who conquered Europe’s elite with Lyon in 2019. "Those two words are what I want to get Everton closer to again. I see Everton, in the women’s game, being a team which should be competing in the Champions League, because that’s where I found them.
"I want Everton to be back up there at the top. You know with football clubs that they go through ebbs and flows.”
Toffees midfielder Christiansen, 30, worked as a pundit at this summer’s Euros and believes interest in the WSL on the back of the Lionesses’ success can offer an alternative outlet to football fans who will miss out on their match-going experience during the suspension of men’s fixtures for November’s World Cup.
She added: “Not every football fan is going to be able to go out to Qatar to watch their respective nations play in the World Cup,” she added. So, I think to get your football fix, there’s no better place than the WSL during November and December. That’s when it really starts to heat up in terms of competition.
“We’ll have a really good insight then as to who might go on to win the league, who’s going to challenge for the Champions League spots, who’s struggling at the bottom of the table. Now, at the start of the new season, it’s about grasping that appetite and making sure that fans are really entertained.”
Christiansen rejoined Everton in 2019 after a success-laden decade away but admits being back in familiar surroundings helped in her journey of personal rediscovery.
“I didn’t just come back because I wanted to play back in England. I came back because I saw Everton as a project I could impact,” she said. As a player, you’ve got to be happy off the pitch to perform on it and you have to bring the best version of yourself through the training gates every day in order to be impactful.
“Getting that stability in your life’s important as a player to make sure that you can be who you want to be on the pitch. That’s definitely what I found in myself.”
