Sunderland Ladies' striker Beth Mead has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal, the club announced today.
Mead has been one of the Lady Black Cats' most influential figures in their incredible debut in WSL 1, scoring 11 goals in 12 games so far to firmly, yet unexpectedly, launch her side into the title race.
Only Fran Kirby beat her to the top-scorer award in WSL 2 last season, scoring an incredible 24 times for Reading, but Mead looks set to top the charts this season, with her nearest competitor, Notts County's Jess Clarke, being four goals behind her with two games to go.
Mead thrilled to commit to promising project
Speaking to the club's official website about her new contract, Mead said that she is "over the moon" to have put pen to paper on the deal, as she believes that Sunderland are a club "heading in the right direction" and she is "excited to be part of that."
With her team currently sitting fourth in the table, only four points off of a Champions League spot, despite only being promoted last year, she recognises that "this season has been fantastic," but is happy with how things are going personally too, saying that she "love[s] coming to training every day" and is "really happy that can continue."
Manager delighted to keep hold of star striker
Given how incredible a season Mead has had this year, she has turned quite a few heads, and her manager, Carlton Fairweather has noticed this, saying that "there has been interest from other top-flight clubs."
However, he believes the fact that Sunderland have been able to keep hold of her "shows exactly where [they] want this club to be."
Fairweather sang plenty of praise for the 20-year-old too, labelling her as "one of the best young players in the country" and saying that the club are, therefore, "delighted" that she "has signed a new deal."
The manager added that he "hope[s] she can continue to score goals for Sunderland for years to come."