Players flocking to ply their trade in England can still be a positive for women's football in Scotland, insists Scottish Women's Premier League managing director Fiona McIntyre. Second tier Ipswich Town alone have snapped up six players from the SWPL this summer, part of a wider trend of players heading south.

Celtic's Emma Lawton has joined the Tractor Girls along with Hearts trio Georgia Hunter, Bayley Hutchinson and Georgia Timms and Hibernian pair Rosie Livingston and Eilidh Adams. Hibs have also lost influential striker Kathleen McGovern to Newcastle United in the same division. McIntyre says these transfers are inevitable given the resources in England, but hopes Scottish clubs will start to receive larger fees.

"We don't want to lose talent, but when you're on the border of one of the best resourced leagues in the world, the fact they're coming to Scotland is a real positive in the sense it reflects well on the standard we have," McIntyre said. "Our priority is that the SWPL has a really high standard but we're not naive."

McIntyre believes player trading can become part of the economic model and that departures create opportunities for young Scottish players. "Some of it may leave and that may benefit the national team, and when players leave it creates opportunity for young Scottish players to really get a chance," she added.