Manchester United have confirmed their captain, Katie Zelem, will leave on Sunday when her contract expires. The England midfielder and lifelong United fan has been with the club since they reformed a senior women’s team in 2018 and has been a mainstay of the starting side in the subsequent years.
United made the announcement in a message that said: “Today we bid farewell to a legend.” The England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who has turned down an offer of a new contract and is believed to be strongly considering an offer from Paris Saint-Germain, is also poised to leave United.
The circumstances surrounding Zelem’s departure are understood to differ in that, in Zelem’s case, the club held a further year’s option on her contract, but they reportedly opted not to trigger that option.
The 28-year-old will be free to speak to other clubs and is unlikely to be short of offers, having won 12 England caps and been part of the Lionesses squad that reached the final of last year’s Women’s World Cup.
The news comes after it was confirmed that the Spain forward Lucia García is leaving United on a free.
United are close to signing a forward, with Norway’s Elisabeth Terland understood to have taken a medical on Tuesday with a view to joining from Brighton. Terland was the Women’s Super League’s joint-second-highest scorer last season, level on 13 goals with Chelsea’s Lauren James and behind only Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.
In addition to the impending exits of Earps and Zelem, United have endured a difficult week after the Guardian revealed that the women’s team will be moved into portable buildings next term so the men’s squad can use the women’s building at the Carrington training complex during renovations of the men’s facilities.
