Hibs Women seem to be focusing on homegrown talent. Here's why that makes sense

Hibs Women are showing no signs of slowing down in the transfer market, having announced their fourth signing in ten days.

On one level, it makes perfect sense to get players in the door sooner rather than later, especially given the stuttering start to last season’s campaign, which head coach Dean Gibson likened to an ‘extended pre-season’. But it also suggests Hibs are working harder than ever to put up more of a challenge to the ‘big three’ in Celtic, Glasgow City, and Rangers and also to Hearts, who finished ten points clear of their city rivals in the SWPL1 table.

Tegan Bowie is the latest recruit, the versatile left-sided winger/full-back signing a two-year deal from Celtic and returning to her former side after leaving the Hibs academy in 2018. Speaking to the club’s website, Bowie said of her return: “I am delighted; I can’t wait to get started and meet all the girls. I loved my time at the Hibernian Academy, representing the club at different age groups.”

Head coach Grant Scott added: “We are pleased to have Tegan joining the squad; she is a great young player with a wealth of experience for both club and country. The coaching staff and I are looking forward to working and aiding her development.”

Tegan Bowie has returned to Hibs after five years away, with the academy graduate signing a two-year deal

She joins wing-back Mya Christie, forward Abbie Ferguson, and goalkeeper Katie Fraine in signing for Hibs this summer, following the departure of seven first-team players at the end of the previous season.

With Lucy Parry back at parent club Liverpool and Ava Kuyken and Liana Hinds moving onto pastures new along with attacking trio Katie Lockwood, Crystal Thomas, and Nor Mustafa, the outfield gaps in the Hibs Women squad are clear to see. Fraine has already come into replace Benedicte Haaland between the sticks and there will be further additions as the summer progresses. Hibs suffered something of an injury curse last season, often just about managing to cobble together a matchday XI and a handful of subs. With no real opportunity to promote academy players into the first-team squad

There was a very multinational feel to Hibs’ recruitment last year, with players hailing from Poland, Sweden, Cyprus, the USA, Norway, and Trinidad & Tobago as well as England and Scotland, but there has been a distinctly homegrown feel to most of the signings so far. Twelve of last season’s 25-strong squad – before the departures of Krystyna Freda and Eleni Giannou midway through the campaign – were Scottish, with the remaining 13 hailing from elsewhere. That can bring about issues in terms of settling and adapting to a different game. It’s an easier transition for some than it is others. It feels significant that Bowie, Christie, and Ferguson are all Scotland U19 internationalists and have already played alongside current Hibs first-teamers Eilidh Adams and Rosie Livingstone.

General manager Chris Gaunt’s assertion that Hibs Women are ‘building a squad with players that have youth, talent, and a desire to win’ hints at the direction recruitment is taking: young and hungry players looking for regular gametime and the chance to progress their careers at a club with decent infrastructure and two or three experienced bodies to help balance out the crop of talented youth.