Bayley Hutchison has been nominated for the PFA Scotland Women’s Young Player of the Year award for 2021/22. Despite missing part of the season through injury, the Scotland U19 striker has managed to net 18 goals in only 22 appearances.

“It is always an honour to get nominated for an award. It shows the hard work that you have put in throughout the year has been recognised.

“The nomination is not just about me.

“It shows just how well Aberdeen have done in our first year in SWPL 1. Loads of players in our team could have been up for this award, you see the likes of Eva Thomson, Jess Broadrick, Fran Ogilvie, Eilidh Shore, Bailley Collins – they are all young players at Aberdeen who have been outstanding these past 12 months. The team has done so well and with all these young players, will hopefully continue to do well.

“I am obviously happy with the goals I have scored this season. My main aim was not the number of goals I scored; it was to score against the top teams in the league. So, I am a little disappointed with the way I have been doing because I have had chances in these big games recently and not managed to convert. But I enjoy scoring and at the end of the day it is not about me. It is about the team winning. I am pleased I have managed to help the team get some wins and hopefully we can maintain our strong league position in these final games.

“Getting a vote from the other players in the league, that obviously means a lot, especially as there are so many good players out there.

“There are a lot of good young players in this country. I was away with the Scotland U19s recently so got the opportunity to see for myself just the amount of quality there is coming through in Scotland.

“Without a Scotland U21 side, hopefully some of these girls can start pushing their way into the Scotland A squad in the near future. The step up can look quite daunting because the current group of players are all older and they all play for big teams and are professional players. But we have seen one or two players recently make the step up and I believe there are others who can do the same. It is a good aim to have.”

The award winners will be announced by PFA Scotland on Sunday.