Keeley Banfield is glad to be settling into life with Aberdeen Women after moving to the north-east from England earlier this year.
The 20-year-old signed for the Dons in January, joining from English fourth-tier side Bridgwater United.
She signed at the same time as goalkeeper Jenni Currie and defender Lois Edwards, who have become more than just team-mates with the trio currently sharing a flat.
After moving to the north-east from the Somerset town Shepton Mallet, sharing a flat with familiar faces has helped the Granite City feel a bit more like home to Banfield.
“I have settled in really well,” said Banfield. “I’ve settled in much better than I had expected.
“Living with the other girls has made it a lot easier. I’m around them all the time and then we go to training together which has been good. All of the girls have made it really easy to settle in.
“Staying with them has been good because we are always talking about football, but we’re also talking about personal things.
“It is really good to have people up here you can talk to things about. Especially maybe after a game when we are all in the same situation.”
Opportunity to play in the SWPL with Aberdeen Women a “no brainer”
By joining Aberdeen, Banfield signed her first-ever semi-professional paid contract, which was an opportunity she and her family felt was too good to turn down.
The contract was not the only incentive, as playing in the top-flight of Scottish football also appealed to the midfielder.
Banfield came to the Dons with a wealth of experience in England, despite being only 20, having come through the ranks at Bristol City’s academy, before being named Bridgwater’s captain for the last two seasons.
“It was a lot of talking to my dad and speaking the move through with my family,” said Banfield.
“It was half-and-half whether I wanted to move away from them all, but I am so glad I made the decision to come here.
“There is nothing down by me which offers this. It was a sort of no brainer if I wanted to progress with my own career in football.
“The main thing I wanted to do when I came here was to get into the squad straightaway and start getting comfortable with the level of the league.”
Banfield has achieved her aims of securing a place in the squad, having started in each of Aberdeen’s nine games across all competitions since the midfielder joined the club.
“The league is a lot different to down south,” added Banfield. “The play is a lot faster and players are a lot stronger, so it has been really good.”
Banfield keen to extend time in Scotland after this season
Although things have fallen into place with the football side of things, the move has had its difficulties.
Banfield is a sports science student at the University Centre Somerset, where she is now studying remotely.
“I am still trying to finish my degree,” said Banfield. “I’m in my second year at the minute, so I am deciding whether I want to stay on for my third year.
“It is kind of hard because I’m doing it online, so staying on top of everything can be difficult, but I think I’m doing quite well.
“The biggest thing for me is just having the resources my lecturers give me. Sometimes they have sent me stuff and sometimes they haven’t, so it has been a lot of waiting to be able to do anything.”
With Banfield’s contract with Aberdeen up in the summer, she is keen to have a future with the club.
“I’m definitely thinking about if they offered me a new contract,” said Banfield. “There has been nothing here which has made me have any thoughts about going back home.”
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