'I expect booing!' - Mary Earps preparing for Man Utd return with PSG after leaving Red Devils for free in 2024

When Earps left United on the expiry of her contract, off the back of a historic FA Cup triumph but also the club’s worst WSL season to date, she suggested that a period of expected transition did not "align" with where she was in her own career. Arsenal were credited with interest at one stage, but she opted for PSG instead. With Manchester United and PSG both qualifying for the league phase of the Champions League this season, Earps told BBC Sport in the build-up to Wednesday's clash it would be considered "written in the stars".

She added: "I knew it from the moment [United] qualified. Sometimes you just feel it. Maybe I manifested it, I don't know, Going back to Old Trafford, which is a special place, with so many amazing memories. I'm looking forward to the game."

Earps was a first-hand witness to the hostile reception that Alessia Russo, who left on a free transfer to join Arsenal in the summer of 2023, received from United fans at Leigh Sports Village in her first game against her former club just a couple of weeks into the 2023-24 campaign. The former England goalkeeper isn’t ruling out the possibility of at least "a little bit" of heckling.

"I'm probably expecting a little booing," she continued. "I hope it's a little bit, but it might be a lot. A few of the fans have come out to support me at PSG, but Manchester United is their number one team. I understand that."

A few factors might prevent the reaction to Earps from being that bad. That the game is at Old Trafford, rather than the much more intimate Leigh Sports Village (recently renamed the Progress With Unity Stadium) where every voice can be heard, might serve to dilute any hostility. The larger venue for this game and the nature of the occasion is also likely to attract more casual fans, who are less vocal.

That Earps made controversial comments about Hannah Hampton in her book is more a prickly subject for Chelsea supporters, and in an international context, while the fact that she left for PSG rather than a direct rival – differing from Russo switching allegiance to Arsenal – may also influence how she is perceived by United supporters. On top of that, where Russo's exit left the club somewhat high and dry without a clear starting No.9, the club had arguably already prepared for a future without Earps when Phallon Tullis-Joyce was signed a year prior. The American has flourished since taking over the gloves and is among the nominees for the 2025 Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper award.

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United boss Marc Skinner, who had previously also briefly worked with Earps at Leicester City when she was a teenager, said on Tuesday he will "say nothing but good things" about her.

"Me and Mary have always had a good relationship," he explained. "I've not read the book. I don't know anything about it... I'm hearing snippets, of course I am. I'm always one of those [who thinks] you have to be careful what you say but Mary believes in it. So that's her truth, she has to speak it.

"From our perspective, we'll welcome her as somebody that is on the opponents' team in this game. But also always pay tribute to what she has done when she was at Manchester United. I know Mary is a good person, so I look forward to the challenge of trying to beat her and her team on this Wednesday night."

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