SIPPING a flat white in the Buchanan Street sunshine, it would be easy to assume Jess Fishlock was just another twentysomething Glasgwegian shopper.

Fashionably dressed and with trademark silver hair, only her slim frame and athleticism give a hint of the fact that she is the first fully professional women's footballer to play in Scotland.

Fishlock's move to Glasgow City, on a three-month loan from Seattle Reign, was a big story within the sport yet barely caused a ripple in her temporary home. That has been in stark contrast to Seattle, on the west coast of the United States, where the Wales captain cannot pop into her local supermarket without somebody tweeting breathlessly that they have spotted her.

Born and brought up the fourth of six children on a tough Cardiff council estate, the 26-year-old always hoped to be a professional footballer. Her favourite team was Manchester United and her idol Eric Cantona. Like the Frenchman, hard work and determination have enabled her to realise her dream against overwhelming odds.

"When I look back I sometimes wonder what I was thinking about believing I could become a footballer," muses the combative midfielder. "It wouldn't be that silly nowadays for a girl to believe she could do it, but it was then, before women's football started to take off.

"That's why I think it has been a success story for me. It has been a long, hard path and I've had to go to a lot of different places to arrive at where I am now. There were a lot of sacrifices, but I feel extremely fortunate."

Fishlock signed for Seattle Reign in February and the recent completion of the inaugural National Women's Soccer League season in the United States enabled her to join Glasgow City for three months. In November she will move to Australia for another loan period, with Melbourne Victory, before rejoining Seattle in February.

Even playing in three continents for 12 months she will not muster as much cash as Gareth Bale now earns in a few days at Real Madrid. That is the law of the footballing jungle but, if forthright about the paucity of resources in the women's game, Fishlock has nothing but admiration for her compatriot.

"I've met Gareth a few times and he is a lovely person," she says. "I'm so happy for him. At the Welsh awards he always comes over and chats to us, shows an interest in what we do. Someone like him doesn't have to do that, but it wasn't always so easy for him either."

Fishlock is the only British player in the National Women's Soccer League - each of the eight sides is restricted to two international picks - and distinguished herself by being named in the all-star team of the season. It says everything about the poor judgment of Hope Powell, who was recently sacked as England manager, that Fishlock was not selected for the Team GB Olympic squad last summer, this despite having been voted players' player of the year in England just a month earlier. "It was a huge honour to be asked to play in the NWSL," says Fishlock, who joined Seattle from Women's Super League side Bristol Academy. Before that, she played for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, becoming the first overseas player in the Eredivisie and helping them to successive league titles in 2009 and 2010.

She describes that stage of her career as the footballing equivalent of going to university and, having graduated with honours, she now finds herself in the same league as many of the world's elite players. "I made a living in Holland, but it was more like having enough to survive," she recalls. "At Bristol I was semi-professional. Without telling you my exact wage at Seattle, I can safely say I am picking up a good few grand a month, and that's without any outgoings."

Home games attracted close to a capacity 4500 supporters towards the end of the season and Seattle are looking for a bigger stadium for their second season. The play-off champions, Portland Thorns, regularly played in front of crowds of 17,000 in what was an encouraging first season for the latest attempt to sustain professional women's football in the US. Fishlock has an agent and, not surprisingly, there were plenty of offers from England and elsewhere in Europe when it became known she would be available for three months.

So why Glasgow City, who cannot possibly have offered the best financial terms? "I've followed City for a while and their progression over the past five years has been unbelievable," says Fishlock. "They are an amateur club whose players train every day to a high standard.

"Our [Wales'] World Cup qualifiers start later this month and I wanted to be at a club in the UK which offered me full-time training. The teams in England only train three times a week. I am getting paid, but it's only to tide me over; this move shows the respect I have for the club and the fact they can give me what I need."

Although she has scored five goals in her first three matches, Fishlock's presence in domestic football is almost superfluous as City are within touching distance of a record seventh successive Scottish Women's Premier League title. What the champions can, more meaningfully, offer Fishlock is Champions League football. She played in the competition previously with Alkmaar and Bristol and is as excited as her new team-mates at the prospect of a last-16 tie against Arsenal, if City can beat Standard Liege in the next round.

"It's a draw we can be pleased with and a great chance for the club to make a public statement," she says. "Standard Liege will be tough but it's a tie that's winnable. If all goes well and it's City versus Arsenal, that's a very tasty fixture for women's football in both countries. I've played against them many a time and it's winnable, too. I'd love to help City into the quarter-finals; if that happens I can be more than happy with what I've brought to the club."

Smart, articulate and the holder of a B coaching badge, Fishlock has had further experience as a coach with Cardiff City Ladies and it is an option she intends to pursue when she finishes playing. "Women's football still has far to go with regard to its quality and competitiveness, especially in the UK," she says. "We need to get the footballing side right so the product we have to sell is good enough to be a business."