While the young midfielder is still relatively new to conducting interviews, her enthusiasm shines through nonetheless. When the topic of football is introduced, she immediately lights up, and it’s evident she is living out her dream here at Chelsea.

‘Football means everything to me,’ she smiles. ‘It's always been football, football, football. I was never really interested in school. I just wanted to come home, get my kit on and go to training. Ever since I was a young girl, it's been the biggest part of my life.’

Potter was born in Epsom, but since the age of three has lived in Redhill. She described an area that has everything she needs close by, including Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

Her upbringing has provided the platform for her football career to blossom. She beams when she talks about her family and explains how their dedication to her passion from a young age helped her succeed.

‘My dad is from Essex, and my mum is from Banstead,’ she explains. ‘My mum works at a primary school and I went to the same school when I was younger. My dad works from home so he's there a lot with the dog. He's never left alone…the dog, I mean!

‘I've been really lucky with the support that I've had. My mum spent a lot of time taking me to football and my grandparents live quite locally, so my brother would spend time with them when my mum was out taking me places. My family was very supportive and encouraging.

‘My earliest football memory was playing with my brother and his friends in the local boys' football team. Just playing with my brother, having fun. We're close in age, he was the year above me at school, so I wanted to do everything he did.

‘I went to Saint Bede’s School in Redhill. I played for the boys' team there - we didn't really have a girls' team. After school, I played out with my brother.'

It’s not only natural talent that has made Potter stand out above other players of the same age. A look at her performances in the first team this season shows she has all the attributes to become an elite midfielder: sharp passing, good decision-making, close control and the physicality to hold off opponents while shielding the ball.

The conversation moves on, and it immediately becomes clear how she has managed to develop those attributes at such a young age. Playing futsal on a small indoor pitch against boys opened the door to her becoming one of England’s best young talents in the centre of the park.

‘I played futsal for a long time when I was growing up with my brother,’ explains Potter. ‘It's indoors, so it's quite tight, confined spaces. You had to learn to be good on the ball technically and try to get out of these tight spaces. It was about close control and the importance of the basics.

‘We played together when we were younger, before it became really physical. For me, it was important to play with boys because they can help shape you as a player. You have to move the ball more quickly.

‘You have to react quicker, you have to be smart and know what you want to do with the ball before you get it, because of how quick and agile they can be. You have to make those decisions faster.

‘Boys are a lot more physical and aggressive, so I feel like playing with them has helped me to become the player I am today.’

Having signed for the Chelsea academy at eight years old, Potter has grown up in an environment designed to help keep her feet on the ground – and it shows.

Her two-year loan spell at Crystal Palace between 2023 and 2025 allowed her to compete against experienced professionals, and now she is continuing her development in the Chelsea first team.

‘I’ve never really thought to myself that I’m good,’ she says. ‘It’s more a feeling of being humble and wanting to work hard to be the best I can be. But in the Academy, we had a good team, and I had really good players around me. We won the FA Cup together.

‘Being at the Chelsea Academy was so good for me. Some brilliant staff members helped me along the way, and I was surrounded by great players at my age. Then I went on loan to Palace. We won the Women’s Championship, and then I had the opportunity to play in the WSL the following season.

‘It was a bit difficult for me when I first went there, though. It was a women's team, so I had to grow up really quickly from the academy in terms of needing to be independent and stuff. I had been at Chelsea my whole life, but then I had to adapt to a new atmosphere and try to break into an established team. And as footballers, all we want to do is to be playing.

‘All the sacrifices are worth it to be able to play for Chelsea and to be able to play with world-class players here. It’s something you dream of when you are young and hope to be able to do. But I know I've got a long way to go still.

‘I try not to get distracted by others because everyone's journey is different, so I concentrate on myself. I want to keep learning every day, take good advice, give it my all and have no regrets.

‘Now I’m back at Chelsea, training every single day with the first team. I love working in such a high-performance atmosphere and being a part of a squad who are always competing for trophies. It’s amazing to be learning from the best.’