Michaela McAlonie new deal as Hibs midfielder eyes up national team call-up

Hibs midfielder Michaela McAlonie is enjoying a “really exciting” time as a footballer – after signing a new contract until 2025.

The 21-year-old signed for the club from Spartans in 2021 and since then has become one of the first names on the team sheet for Hibs. During her time, she has seen the Edinburgh club become fully professional as well as break the SWPL attendance record multiple times. Most recently at Easter Road in the Edinburgh derby in November.

“I’m really excited. The ambitions that Hibs have got are going in the right direction”, she told the Edinburgh Evening News. “I am buzzing to be a part of it. It’s such a successful club, especially in Edinburgh, so I couldn’t be happier.

“We are on the right track, going full-time [last summer], it's just about keeping everything professional. Obviously, we didn’t have a great start to the season. The start to the new year has been good. We are thinking positively about that, and we just have to keep lifting ourselves with that. For my ambitions personally, I just want to keep building myself as a player, keep improving, keep asking questions and hopefully keep developing.”

Michaela McAlonie's side currently sit fifth in the SWPL1, three points behind rivals Hearts. Credit: Colin Poultney

McAlonie has had a strong season so far, helping to keep the midfield rock solid. She also pitches in with the goals too, netting past top-of-the-league Glasgow City in December. As she continues to develop, she has one eye on a Scotland call-up.

“That should be everyone’s aspiration here, try and play for the national team,” she stated. “There is no better feeling. I was with Scotland Under-19s so I know what it's like, how tough it is, and what the feeling is like to play for your country. To get to the first-team squad would be a dream come true. I am still young. I just need to keep working hard and keep learning. Hopefully, I will get the chance one day.

“I would say I have different attributes, but every game is different. In some games I might have the ball more at my feet, in others it’s more of a battle. Whoever we are playing against I switch up how I play.”

This Thursday night, Hibs will travel to Glasgow to take on Rangers who are still unbeaten in the SWPL. Despite the scale of the challenge, McAlonie believes they can come away with a positive result.

“I’m really excited. I think it will be a tough one but one we are looking to do well in”, she added. “We did very well at Meadowbank [against Rangers], we stuck to our plan and executed it really well. We have a really good chance to give them a good game if we play well and start well.

“We are looking to get as many points as we can and get higher up in the table. We did well at improving our goal difference on Sunday, we are just looking to build on that and get and high up the table as possible.”