It’s been a tough season for Everton thus far, with just the one Barclays Women’s Super League match win to their credit.
One bright spot has, however, been the first professional contract handed to lifelong Evertonian Issy Hobson.
“I’ve been waiting a long time, so it’s nice to get it done,” the 18-year-old tells SheKicks.net.
She thought she would be spending this season on loan at Nottingham Forest following a successful spell at Sheffield United last year.
But a series of injuries in the Toffees squad in September meant boss Brian Sorensen recalled her to Goodison Park – just after she made her Forest debut in the Subway Women’s League Cup.
“I actually really enjoyed my time at Forest,” she says. “I was just getting settled in, all the girls were so lovely and the environment was so professional, especially for the fact that they’d just got promoted to the Championship – I actually thought it was quite similar to the environment here [at Everton].
“I’d just played my first game for them as well in the Cup, so it was nice to get minutes, obviously I haven’t had minutes for quite a while, and then it was all such a quick turnaround.
“One night my agent called me and was like, ‘I’ve just been on the phone to Brian, you’re back in training tomorrow.’
“This is where I want to be, this is my priority, so it was nice – and to come back after learning so much in such a short amount of time, obviously I went to Sheffield [United] last year as well, even being there three, four weeks, I do feel like I learned so much in the game. so much experience from even just being in around a different environment.
“I’ve been here so long so to be around something else, I gained so much from it.”
Brian Sorensen: Issy Hobson has a bright future
Sorensen told SheKicks.net that Hobson is an “astute” player, ready for first-team action as she continues to improve and develop.
“Just being full-time in our environment now is very good for her,” he said. “Issy is working hard and we see a bright future in her.”
And Goodison Park is the place Hobson considers home, having had a season ticket there since childhood to watch the men’s team.
“For that to be our stadium now, I’m honestly just so grateful that we’ve been given this opportunity, and I think you can tell by the excitement around the training ground and the excitement for game days now, it’s a different vibe, to be in such a historic place to try and fulfil what’s already been done there.”
Hobson’s record-breaking start to WSL life
It might sound funny for someone so young to talk with such authority about a club’s history, but in addition to being a devoted fan, Issy Hobson has been part of the first-team squad for several years. Indeed, she holds a WSL record – the youngest-ever goalscorer when she struck against Arsenal in a 1-1 draw at Walton Hall Park on 28th April, 2024, aged just 16 years and 180 days.
It’s a record she cherishes (“It’s an amazing title that I hope I never lose!”), but she also hopes to make history in other ways.
“I want to establish myself in a different way now. That was me bursting onto the scene as a younger player and now I want to show that I have got more in me than that. That was just my entrance, if that makes sense – and now it’s [about] establishing myself as a more senior player.”
“Every time someone comes in, they just match that, so although it has been very up and down in terms of results and things that have gone our way, I think you can tell in the way that we play, that’s never really changed.”
She goes on: “I know it sounds like cliche and I always say it, but I honestly don’t think you can describe it to anyone who’s not around it.
“To be an Everton player, it’s just such a different thing than just to be a football player. There’s an understanding that you give everything for everyone around you. It’s not even just going out there every week and doing the best for yourself; you have an understanding of what the fans want, what the manager wants, and you’re fighting for each other and you’re fighting for the history of this club.”
