Izzy eyes return to top table

IZZY CHRISTIANSEN is setting her sights on more than just a new Everton contract.

The England star’s deal expires next summer, but she has outlined her target to help Brian Sorensen’s side secure a long-awaited return to the Champions League.

Christiansen, who conquered Europe’s elite with Lyon in 2019, said: “I joined Everton when I was 14 and made my first-team debut in the Champions League.

“Those two words are what I want to get Everton closer to again.

“I see Everton being, in the women’s game, a team which should be competing in the Champions League because that’s where I found them.

“I want Everton to be back up there at the top.

“You know with football clubs that they go through ebbs and flows.”

Toffees midfielder Christiansen, 30, worked as a pundit at this summer’s Euros and believes interest in the WSL on the back of the Lionesses’ success can offer an outlet to supporters who will miss out on their match-going experience during the World Cup.

She added: “Not every football fan is going to be able to go out to Qatar to watch their respective teams play in the World Cup,” she added.

“So I think to get your football fix, there’s no better place than the WSL during November and December.

“That’s when it really starts to heat up in terms of competition.

Appetite

“We’ll have a really good insight then as to who’s going to go on and win the league, who’s going to challenge for the Champions League spots, who’s struggling at the bottom.

“Now, at the start of the season, it’s about grasping that appetite and making sure fans are really entertained.”

Christiansen (below) rejoined Everton in 2019 after a success-laden decade away – but she admits being back in familiar surroundings helped in her journey of personal rediscovery.

“I didn’t just come back because I wanted to play back in England. I came back because I saw Everton as a project I could impact,” she said.

“As a player, you’ve got to be happy off the pitch to perform on it and you have to bring the best version of yourself through the training gates every day in order to be impactful.

“Getting that stability in your life is important as a player to make sure that you can be who you want to be on the pitch.

“That’s definitely what

I found in myself.”