Nikita Josephine Parris (born 10 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club London City Lionesses and the England national team. She previously played for Division 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester City, Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
From 2018 to 2020, Parris held the record as all-time leading scorer in the Women's Super League. With Olympique Lyonnais, Parris has won the 2019–20 Champions League, the 2020 Coupe de France (Women's French Cup), the 2019 Trophée des Championnes, and the 2019 International Champions Cup. With Manchester City, she won the 2016 league title, the 2016 and 2018–19 League Cup as well as the 2016–17 and 2018–19 FA Cup.
Parris represented England from under-17 to under-23 youth levels, becoming a 2013 U-19 Championship runner-up with the under-19 team. She made her senior international debut in Euro 2017 qualifying, helping the national team reach the semi-finals of the Euro 2017, as well as a fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup. Her six goals during World Cup qualification ranked first within UEFA nations and secured England's place at the top tournament. She helped England win its first-ever SheBelieves Cup in 2019 and Arnold Clark Cup in 2022, as well as win the Euro 2022.
Parris was named the FWA Women's Footballer of the Year in 2019. She was included in The Guardian list of The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World in 2018 and 2019.
Early life and education
Born on 10 March 1994 in Toxteth, an inner city area of Liverpool, Parris was raised with her twin sister and two brothers by her mother, Jo, who worked three jobs to support the family.
Parris attended St. Patrick's Primary School in Liverpool where she trained with the athletic team and dreamed of playing like Arsenal and Scottish international player Julie Fleeting. At age six, she began playing football with boys on a grass border near her home and continued playing with boys until she was sixteen. Every time her mother looked out, she would see Parris slide tackling the boys or them slide tackling her.
As a youth, Parris started her own football team: "I started a football team myself at the age of eleven because I wanted to have a women’s team in the local community. So, I gathered all my friends and family and everyone I knew... and we were successful. We won the league." Parris' sister and two cousins also played in the team, which was called Kingsley United. As part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Parris was installed at the club in 2022.
Parris was a girlhood Liverpool FC supporter. Her mother often bought her the latest kit, and she would emulate her favourite players Michael Owen, Fernando Torres and Luis Suárez. At age ten, Parris was recruited by Mo Marley, head coach of Everton. At the time, Parris did not want to leave, but later joined Everton's Centre of Excellence at age 14.
Parris attended Bellerive FCJ Catholic College, but in September 2010 switched to Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School for her sixth form education, because it was a specialist sports college. She earned a degree in sports development from Liverpool John Moores University.
Club career Everton
Parris made her senior-team debut for Everton in May 2010 at the age of 16 in an away game against Arsenal, coming on as a second-half substitute. In August 2010, she played her second match during the qualifying tournament for the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League. During a match against Borec on 7 August 2010 she scored a brace, helping Everton to a 10–0 win. Parris played in five matches for Everton during the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League. The following year, she was named to Everton's squad for the inaugural season of the Women's Super League (FA WSL). She made three appearances during the 2011 FA WSL season.
During the 2012 FA WSL season, Parris played in 10 matches, starting five. The 2013 season marked the start of Parris' goalscoring prowess for Everton. She scored six goals in 11 games. She scored the game-winning goal in a 1–0 win over Notts County on 15 September. Her two goals against Liverpool on 12 September were Everton's only goals in the 4–2 loss. Everton finished in third place during the regular season with a record.
Parris scored 11 goals in 19 games during the 2014 season, but Everton went winless in the league and were relegated to FA WSL 2. Following her 2014 performance, she was placed on the shortlist for the 2015 PFA Women's Young Player of the Year, was selected for the WSL Team of the Year, and was named Everton's Player of the Year.
Manchester City (loan) Parris joined Manchester City on a season-long loan in January 2015, reuniting with former teammates Toni Duggan and Jill Scott, who had left Everton two seasons prior, as she thought she needed to play in WSL 1 to contend for a place on the senior England national team. Parris scored four goals in 13 matches. She scored her first goal — a game-winner — during a match against Sunderland when she headed in from a corner kick in the 17th minute. During a match against Liverpool, she scored an equaliser in the 54th minute, another header, this time off of Izzy Christiansen's free-kick. Manchester City finished in second place during the regular season with a record.
Manchester City Parris signed with Manchester City on a two-year contract in January 2016. During the 2016 FA WSL season, she scored one goal in 16 games. On 29 April, her game-winning goal in the 40th minute cemented the team's 2–0 win against Sunderland. City finished in first place during the regular season with a record. She played in all three games of the final stages of the League Cup helping Manchester City clinch the 2016 title.
Parris made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut for Manchester City on 6 October 2016 during the team's 2–0 win over Zvezda-2005 Perm in the Round of 32 of the 2016–17 tournament. She competed in seven matches, helping Manchester City advance to the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Olympique Lyonnais.
During the FA WSL Spring Series in early 2017, she scored three goals in the six games that she played. Manchester City finished in fifth place with a record. She helped the club clinch the 2016–17 FA Women's Cup the same year. During the 2017–18 FA WSL season, she was a starting forward in 17 of the 18 games she played and scored 11 goals, ranking second in the league behind Ellen White of Birmingham City. During the team's 3–0 win against Sunderland on 28 January 2018, she scored twice in the first half securing Manchester City's win and top position in the league. She scored her second brace of the season against Liverpool on 11 February to lift Manchester City back into first place. In May, she scored a hat-trick against Yeovil Town. Manchester City finished in second place during the regular season with a record and secured a berth to the 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League (their third consecutive qualification).
Parris competed with Manchester City in eight matches of the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League. She scored four goals throughout the tournament, including two game-winners against Lillestrøm, and Linköpings FC. Parris helped Manchester City reach the semi-finals where they were narrowly defeated 0–1 (aggregate) by eventual champions, Olympique Lyonnais.
In November 2017, Parris signed a new contract with Manchester City through the end of the 2018–19 FA WSL season. During the 2018–19 season, Parris scored 19 goals in 19 games. She was the second-highest scorer in the league for the season, the highest all-time WSL goalscorer, and second in the all-time assists. Parris began her season goal scoring with a brace in Manchester City's 4–0 win against Everton on 20 September. She scored another brace during the team's 7–1 win against West Ham United. At age 24, she became the Women's Super League's all-time top goalscorer on 4 November 2018 after scoring a brace in the team's 3–0 win against Liverpool. Her 37 goals inched ahead of former Chelsea striker Eniola Aluko. Of the notable record Parris said, "it's an amazing feeling. For me to be so young and be top goalscorer with plenty of years left in me – it bodes well for the future and hopefully it will continue." She scored her fourth brace of the season during a 3–0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on 27 January 2019, including a penalty kick in the third minute of the match. Parris notched a hat-trick in the first half of the team's 4–3 win against Reading. Manchester City finished in second place behind Arsenal with a record. Parris' brace against Chelsea in the semi-final earned City a berth to the 2018–19 FA Women's League Cup Final where they defeated Arsenal in penalty kicks after a 0–0 draw and extra time. The same year, she helped Manchester City win the 2018–19 FA Women's Cup in front of 43,264 fans at Wembley Stadium.
Parris competed with Manchester City in the team's two 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 32 matches where they were defeated 1–3 (aggregate) by Atlético Madrid.
On 11 May 2019, Parris announced she would leave City at the end of the 2018–19 season. During her time at Manchester City, Parris made 127 appearances for the club, and scored 62 goals. Her 25 assists ranked second all-time in the league after Karen Carney with 35. In 2019, Parris was voted the Football Writers’ Association Women's Player of the Year. The striker helped Manchester City win two FA Cups in 2017 and 2019, two Continental Cups, a league title and two Champions League semi-finals.
Olympique Lyonnais On 19 June 2019, Division 1 Féminine side Olympique Lyonnais confirmed they had signed Parris on a three-year contract. Parris scored her first league goal for the club, on her debut, in a 6–0 win against Marseille on 24 August. Parris' two goals in a 5–0 home win over Montpellier on 23 February were her last of the season as the 2019–20 Division 1 Féminine season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic in France. In 15 league appearances and 10 starts, Parris scored eight goals. Olympique Lyonnais finished first in the league and secured a berth to the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League. Parris added four goals in six 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League appearances, but missed the final through suspension after she was sent off in a fractious semi-final win over rivals Paris Saint-Germain. Olympique Lyonnais won the Champions League title for the fifth consecutive time after defeating VfL Wolfsburg 3–1 in the 2020 UEFA Women's Champions League Final. This marked Olympique Lyonnais' seventh Champions League title.
Parris scored her first goal of the 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine season in a 3–0 win against Reims on 11 September 2020. During a match against Soyaux on 13 November, she scored a double to lift Olympique Lyonnais to a 5–1 win. She scored 4 goals in 26 minutes against Issy lifting Olympique Lyonnais to a 9–0 win in December. Parris scored a double against Paris FC on 22 January 2021 increasing her goal tally of the season to eleven.
Arsenal Following two seasons with Olympique Lyonnais, Parris returned to the Super League, signing with Arsenal for a club-record fee on 2 July 2021. She scored her first goal for the club on her 18 August debut versus Okzhetpes in the Champions League. She scored her 50th goal in the WSL in the match against Aston Villa on 1 May 2022.
Manchester United
On 6 August 2022, Parris was confirmed to have signed for WSL club Manchester United.