Manchester United pulled off a coup by signing Lea Schüller – so what will she bring? | OneFootball

Since they were promoted to the Women’s Super League in 2019, no Manchester United player has managed to score more than 10 league goals in a single season. In Lea Schüller they have signed someone who has surpassed that mark seven seasons in a row in Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga, so it is easy to understand why United are so enamoured with their new striker.

With a formidable 54 goals in 82 internationals, the Germany forward arrives at Carrington with a prolific record and the match-winner profile the club have been craving. At 28 years old she could spend the best years of her career at United, where she has signed a contract until June 2029.

“It could be a win-win situation for Lea and for Manchester United,” says Daniel Kraus, who coached Schüller at SGS Essen between 2016 and 2019. “She has everything to be a world-class striker, because she is fast, she has two great feet, she is good with the head, and she is strong, so I think she has got everything and I’m really looking forward to seeing her playing in England.

“If she has Fridolina Rolfö to the side with crosses and Ella Toone behind her who can feed her with passes – she is really good in the box and with her head – she will score goals. It will give her confidence too, and if she gets used to the style of play in England, the physical side too, if she can add this to her game, she will maybe get a new role in the national team as well.”

Kraus is now coaching Wolfsburg’s under-20 side, sometimes referred to as Wolfsburg II, who play in Germany’s second tier of senior football. He began working with Schüller when she was turning 19, in a youthful side that also included Linda Dallmann. They combined to lethal effect and they would do so again at Bayern Munich.

Schüller was the central striker, playing straight down the middle “99% of the time” rather than coming in from wide areas, and her best attributes were always in the box. Was it clear at that time that she was destined to be a key figure with the national team? “Yes,” says Kraus, “because really she had everything what is needed for a striker.

“We had a really young team and she played with Linda Dallman as the 10, so we had quite a good offence and it was a special time for Essen. It defined the club to develop young players, preparing them for the next things, maybe Munich or Wolfsburg or the national team, so we formed a really good, young, German team, hungry for success.

“Lea was at a really young age, so I needed to teach her that she is not only waiting for the ball and using her speed, but also that we needed her to defend. It’s one of the things she did not like that much, and that’s what we tried to [improve], how to use her skills and also press, and then get the ball to try and switch passes to try to score. It was easy to communicate with her: she understood things well.”

Schüller began her playing days at Hülser SV, a community club in Krefeld. She would go on to score more than 100 goals at Bayern, although this season found game time harder to come by.

Schüller thrives on confidence, so there is cautious optimism at Manchester United that she will settle in well, because she has played with Dominique Janssen at Essen and Julia Zigiotti Olme at Bayern.

In her first interview with MUTV, Schüller said: “I think this team, and the way they play football, can fit me very well. I hopefully will score many goals here. I hope I can help the team. I’m a very direct player so my strength is the speed and headers, so I’m very excited because the team looks like it makes many crosses so that’s perfect for me.”

According to Opta, United are rated fourth for the highest number of crosses in the WSL this season, with 21.4% of them finding their target. Only three players in the division have crossed the ball more times this season than United’s Jayde Riviere, while Anna Sandberg has the second highest successful crosses this season with 11.

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