City starlet signs first pro deal

A Tameside footballer has her sights set on a bright future after signing her first pro contract with Manchester City.

18-year-old Lily Murphy from Hyde has earned the deal after impressing Blues boss Gareth Taylor since joining the club’s Academy in 2022. 

Lily has been a regular in City’s first team squads this season, joining the club’s pre-season tour to Australia, making her senior debut in the 5-0 Champions League win against Paris FC, as well as two more European outings and a pair of sub appearances in the Women’s Super League. 

“Doing this with my best friends is a different feeling,” she said, after putting pen to paper alongside her teammate, Codie Thomas. 

“They [the senior players] know what it feels like. It’s a big step from the Academy to the first team, so know how to help us. You aspire to be starting every week. 

“I’ve had really positive conversations with Gaz. He’s done that journey at a high level himself, so he can give advice and show us how it’s done.” 

Her performances while out on dual registration with Stoke City last year earned her a call-up to the England U19 side. 

However, it wasn’t her first taste of international competition, as Lily has also turned out for her country in athletics as a 100m sprinter.  

On the track, she represents Ashton-based East Cheshire Harriers, and although football has been the priority this year, she still won the Greater Manchester County Schools Championships in June and missed out on a medal in the national finals in Birmingham by one-hundredth of a second a few weeks later. 

The highlight of her fledgling career, though, was that first appearance in sky blue: “Making my debut and playing at the Etihad was so special. That was a big moment for me because I’ve watched City growing up, so to play there was unreal.

"I was so nervous, but my adrenaline kicked in and I just wanted to do my best.”