Jamie-Lee Napier has departed Hibs after two seasons in Edinburgh, joining Barclays Women’s Super League side Chelsea on a two-year deal. Here, I take a look back at her time with the Hibees.

Napier joined Hibs from Celtic in January 2018, making a huge impact at the club as they won two SWPL Cup's and the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup, as well as finishing as runners-up behind Glasgow City and earning a spot in this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Useful versatility 

Originally a full-back, her versatility soon became clear as she was pushed forward, playing as a winger and a striker, becoming a key player for Grant Scott’s side with her almost free role in the forward areas causing all sorts of problems for opposition defences, her pace and eye for goal making her a nightmare to stop.

In the 2018 season, she scored a hat-trick in their 8-0 thrashing of Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final at Firhill as well as notching a number of goals and assists to ensure Hibs would finish second and play in the UWCL.

In the qualification stage played earlier this year in Slovenia, Napier scored three times in wins over FC Nike and Pomurje Beltinci to see Hibs through to the round of 32 where they would face Slavia Prague, losing out on aggregate.

The 19-year old scored 22 goals in 33 games in the 2019 season, including 15 in the league, for the capital club, earning herself the SWPL 1 Player of the Year award.

International stage

As well as starring at club level, Napier featured 19 times for Scotland U19s, including three games in the UEFA Women’s U19 European Championships, which Scotland hosted.

Her performances for both club and country then got her a first call-up to the senior national side for their European Championship qualifier against Cyprus at Easter Road.

Dream come true

After being officially unveiled on Friday afternoon, Napier expressed her happiness at the move, saying; "It feels amazing to be a Chelsea player and I’m delighted to have signed my first professional contract.

‘From a young girl it’s been a dream and an aspiration of mine so I’m delighted that I’ve finally done it with such a successful club like Chelsea."

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