Prior grateful for Miedema encouragement at Man City

Gracie Prior has outlined her gratitude towards Manchester City team-mate Vivianne Miedema for her advice and encouragement.

Twenty-year-old Prior broke into City’s starting lineup at the end of last season and started their Women’s Super League opener against Chelsea last week.

She played the full match alongside Jade Rose at centre-back as City impressed for long periods, though they ultimately succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.

Miedema, 29, is the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer with 87 goals, while she also has the fourth-most assists in the competition's history with 36.

With Prior often going up against Miedema in training, the defender has hailed the Netherlands international’s impact both on and off the pitch.

“I think she's just so good on the ball, off the ball, she scores goals,” Prior told Stats Perform.

“I just think she's such a good player and it's tough getting to her in training, but she's one of the best.

“I think she always helps the young ones on the pitch, always giving us advice, encouraging us. I think she's so helpful to me specifically. I think she's really helped me out.”

Prior also spoke highly of Khadija Shaw. The City forward has directly contributed to 76 goals in 72 WSL games (62 goals, 14 assists).

Among players to have scored at least 50 goals in the competition, no player boasts a better minutes-per-goal ratio than Shaw (81.8), though she failed to find the net at Chelsea.

“She's so good. She's just so unpredictable, really strong," Prior added of Shaw, who has won the WSL Golden Boot in each of the last two seasons:

“She's probably one of the toughest players to play against. She's one of the best in the world.”

City host Brighton on Friday as they bid to get their WSL campaign up and running, before visiting Tottenham a week later.