THERE have been several indicators in the past year that the standard of Scotland’s women footballers is growing at a quite astonishing rate and perhaps one of the most impressive signs of its strength is that it is a Scot who is currently atop Italy’s table of leading scorers.

Lana Clelland is currently UPC Tavagnacco’s form player and she is making her mark on the Serie A Women in impressive style. UPC Tavagnacco are sitting in fifth place in the table and the 23-year-old has scored 12 goals in just 10 games – a ratio that most strikers would bite your hand off for.

Even Clelland admits that she did not expect to be scoring at quite such a prolific rate.

“I’m really happy with how many goals I’ve scored. I definitely didn’t think that I would have got this many by this point in the season and I don’t think many others expected it either,” she says.

“Obviously I love scoring goals but for me, it’s about the team and about us improving together. We’ve started this season really positively – we’re playing well and we just want to keep pushing forward.”

Clelland may have slotted smoothly into Italian footbal,l but that was far from guaranteed when she first made her move two years ago.

She began her footballing career at Rangers before moving to Spartans at the age of 18, but several years of serious injuries curtailed her progress significantly.

This is perhaps why, when an Italian agent contacted her out of the blue through a networking site offering her a move to Italy, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands despite the prospect of being the only Scot in the league.

“I’d just come back from a long-term injury and going to Italy gave me a chance to play football so I decided to go for it,” Clelland says.

“I went to FC Bari and I loved it straight away – it was a completely different style of football and I’d always wanted to experience a different football culture. And to be able to train as a full-time professional was great.”

FC Bari ended up being relegated that season but immediately, UPC Tavagnacco came in for Clellend and she has not looked back since.

She describes Italian football as more tactical than many other countries’ styles, which suits her perfectly.

How at home she feels in Italy is even more astonishing when you consider that when Clelland initially moved, she could not speak a single word of Italian.

Now fluent in the language, the Scot is convinced that the move has not only improved her as a footballer, it has also transformed her as a person.

“When I first moved, it was pretty scary,” she admits. “It was daunting not being able to speak the language.

“But being in the environment helps you learn and now, I even think in Italian, which is pretty crazy considering that two years ago, I couldn’t even say hello.

“I’m like a different person now, I’m so much more confident and I’m so settled in Italy – it feels like home.”

Clellend’s club career may be going from strength to strength, but 2017 is also huge for the Scottish national team.

They have qualified for this summer’s European Championships, which will be their first-ever appearance at a major tournament.

Clelland, who has accumulated 11 caps to date, can barely contain her excitement at the prospect.

She admits that when she was growing up, she dreamt of becoming a footballer, but with no opportunity to even play in a girl’s team until she was 13, she feared that professionalism would come too late for her generation.

And so to be in the position that she now finds herself in is somewhat unbelievable.

“If someone had told me when I was a little girl that I’d now be a full-time professional player in Italy and going to the European Championships, I’d have said they were crazy,” she laughs.

“Growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a footballer but I was always told that it wasn’t possible. It was tough to accept that it wasn’t an option not because I wasn’t good enough but because the opportunity wasn’t there.”

One of the most positive aspects of the transformation of women’s football in Scotland, believes Clelland, is that it presents young girls with role models and allows them to dream of what may be possible. I think this year is going to be a real turning point for women’s football in Scotland,” she says.

“The Euros will be live on television and so young girls will see that and they’ll believe that they can do it too because we’ve proven that with hard work and determination, you can make it.

“Playing in England has always been a dream and so if the right move came up, I would love to go there,” she admits. “But, right now, Italy is the right place for me because I’m learning all the time.”