Ella Toone has been in irresistible form for Manchester United.

The 24-year-old registered six goal contributions in her last six Women's Super League appearances of 2023, as well as scoring and assisting in last weekend's 5-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle.

And United hope her form can inspire them to close the seven-point gap to leaders Chelsea.

We take a closer look at the England international's eye-catching efforts ahead of the Red Devils' clash with the Blues.

High standards

Toone continues to go from strength to strength after an excellent 2022-23 season at club level and a starring role for England at the World Cup.

She has been so consistent over the last year that she was named — alongside team-mate Mary Earps — in the FIFPRO Women's XI for 2023 earlier this week.

She did endure a barren spell between December 2022 and October 2023, failing to score a single league goal in that period.

But Toone is not just a goalscorer and she has already registered three assists and produced the joint-most goal-creating actions in the WSL (seven) heading into the weekend.

The ex-Blackburn youngster also ranked first in the division for progressive passes (78) and in the top three for passes into the penalty area (20) prior to Gameweek 11.

Her vision and creativity set her apart and mean she is an indispensable member of United's starting XI.

Valuable break

After a long and eventful year, Toone should certainly have benefitted from the winter break.

She looked re-energised on her return to action for United in the FA Cup and Marc Skinner believes a rest will have done her good.

The Red Devils boss said: "What Ella has been doing really well is simplifying her game.

"When she draws pressure, she releases with quality and moves again. Her attitude to her own development is right back where it needs to be so it's only a good sign.

"I tried to give all the players a proper switch off time over the break and I think she was able to get away and refresh.

"Tooney wants to play every minute of every match forever but it's common that people don't always know what's best for them, especially players. Sometimes you have to take it out of their hands and force them to have a break."

Looking forward

But Toone appears to be in excellent shape moving into the second half of the season.

Her confidence is high and goals and assists are coming as freely as at any stage of the campaign.

The aim for Toone and the Red Devils will now be to put a run of results together, with defeat to Liverpool in their last WSL game leaving them off the pace.

But their star talent is capable of inspiring them to a shock victory over the Blues at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.