SUNDERLAND LADIES striker Beth Mead has been shortlisted for two prestigious honours in the annual PFA awards.

Mead, who hails from Whitby, is in the running for the Young Player of the Year award as well as making the final five for the coveted Players’ Player of the Year vote.

Widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in women’s football, the 20-year-old marked her debut season in the top-flight of the Women’s Super League with 12 goals in 14 matches, a haul that featured a superb hat-trick in a 4-0 win over eventual champions Chelsea.

Mead, who recently committed herself to Sunderland until 2019, finished the season as the division’s leading scorer, and was also awarded the Vauxhall England Young Player of the Year award as well as the Women’s Super League Players’ Player of the Year honour at the end of last season.

She received her maiden senior England call-up for matches against China and Australia last autumn, and has begun the new WSL season in fine form, scoring two goals in Sunderland’s opening three games.