"I WANT TO BE CHAMPION OF EUROPE WITH CHELSEA - IT WOULD EVEN TOP THE FINAL OF EURO 2022"

The defender has no regrets about choosing to miss this summer's Lionesses triumph - despite spending the whole tournament shouting at her TV...

- Interview Chris Flanagan

You recently launched a clothing range with artwork inspired by your tattoos and personal motto, 'Dream big'. What tattoos do you have?

I've got a tattoo of an owl to represent home, as we've got a barn owl at my family's stables in Sheffield. I've got a matching '1/2' tattoo with my best friend Rachel Daly, 'hakuna matata', which means 'no worries', and a tiger that represents strength. 'Dream big' is something my mum has said since I was little - before every game, she still messages me that. No dream was ever too big, my family never held me back and said, 'That's not realistic'. My motto is, 'They say I dream too big, I say they think too small'. I've lived by that.

At 19, it was announced that your Doncaster Belles side would be demoted from the WSL to make way for Manchester City, no matter where you finished. How tough was that?

Really tough. We had to play a whole season knowing that we were relegated. The decision was nothing to do with the football on the pitch - City came in and that was that. Chelsea moved in for me just as we got relegated, but I turned them down at first, not because I wasn't grateful, but because I didn't feel ready and needed some more playing time at Doncaster. I also didn't want to abandon them just because we'd been relegated. Luckily Chelsea came in again later on, when I'd achieved everything I could with Doncaster and knew it was time. I had to ring my mum and dad to tell them I was moving to London!

You started out as a striker - how did you convert into a centre-back?