Ipswich Town Women have made Sophie Peskett their first ever professional player with the highly-rated 18-year-old winger having signed a two-year deal.
The Blues have received interest from Women’s Super League clubs in Peskett, who has scored 16 goals in 26 games for the Tractor Girls, hence the historic move to sign her on a professional contract.
"It was a no-brainer for me really to sign a contract here,” Sophie told iFollow Ipswich.
"I was a bit shocked at first, being the first to be offered a pro contract, but it’s an amazing feeling to get it done.
"The support I’ve had here, the opportunities I’ve had - it was easy to commit my future to Ipswich and it shows the intent of the club that we are signing players now on pro contracts. I just can’t wait for the season to start.”
Peskett joined the club from the Essex RTC [Regional Talent Club] in the summer of 2019, quickly breaking into the first team as a 16-year-old.
The England U19 international made her debut in the opener against AFC Wimbledon and scored her first senior goals for the club just a couple of weeks later in a 4-0 away victory at Kent Football United.
Her first senior hat-trick came the next month in a 7-0 win against Stevenage and she was a key member of the squad which reached the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup.
Having netted 11 goals and 15 assists, Peskett was named the club’s Player of the Year award and she received her first England U19 call in March 2020.
Earlier this month Town learned that they had been successful in their application to move up to FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division having been top of FAWNL Division One South East when both the previous two seasons were curtailed and declared null and void.
Meanwhile, midfielder Georgia Allen has left the club after one season to pursue a career outside the game and defender Emma Wallis will also be moving on continue her education at Durham University.
Last week, captain Amanda Crump announced her retirement, while midfielder Paige Wakefield has also hung up her boots and midfielder Molly Sutherland is moving to the University of Texas El Paso.