A footballing background…
Blue: “I grew up in a big football household, especially with my brother Ruben. I feel he helped me find my love for football at the very beginning so I think that’s where it really began. I always went every Sunday to watch his games with my mum. He’s a big inspiration to me and I feel a lot of my core memories in football come down to him, whether it will be at the park in front of our flat or anywhere else. It was always him that taught me.
“My brother and I would play in a cage just outside our flat, playing matches, whether we were in the same team or not. For me, when I think about the early ages of football, that’s what comes to my mind – enjoying it, smiling and having fun with my brother on the pitch.
“The first team I really started training for was with Spurs’ boys development side - that was around Under-8s and Under-9s, so I did that quite young and I was there for a while. I ended up moving to Arsenal’s academy for a few seasons before going to my local side, Enfield Town, then I went back into boys’ football for a couple of years with Limitless Academy. When I came back into girls’ football, I signed for West Ham United’s Academy before joining Spurs two summers ago.”
Her passion for defending & Academy football…
Blue: “It has been a crazy experience so far [at Spurs]. There has been highs and lows, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. I have learnt so much since I have been here, grown massively not just as a player but as a person. I’m in my second year now so there’s still so much learning to come, but being here has helped me fall more in love with the game.
“Having the opportunity to play in a boys’ team, it taught me so much. Academy football is focused a lot more work on your technical style but, with the boys, it was a lot more focused on matching them physically. So, I feel I have got the best of both worlds and when I combine them both together, it just makes you twice the player.
“I have always loved defending! When I was really young, I never got assigned a set position. But as I grew up, I just found that love for defending and it’s something that I would never change.
“I would say I’m quite a physical player. I show a lot of passion on the pitch, even away from it, I like to get on the ball, try to join attacks and break lines with my passes. I would just say you would expect a lot of passion and a lot of aggression.”
Representing Ghana at Under-20s level in May…
Blue: “It was a fantastic experience, but it was very different to what I was used too. A lot of training and gym work over the training camp, but it was nice to be in a new environment, different coaches and different culture, but I feel I took it right on board.
“I had to travel out there by myself. It was actually my first time travelling alone, so that was obviously a nice experience. Obviously getting there and being with girls I didn’t know at the time, it tested my social skills for definite. On the pitch, it was just about going on to the pitch and showcasing myself, showing what I’m about and what I can do.”
Read our other features for 'The Making of a Lilywhite' series below