Amid the pinch-me moments working hard alongside her heroes, and a pre-season tour of the USA, the 18-year-old goalkeeper penned her first professional contract with the Blues in August.

The milestone came 10 years after she joined the Blues. One of our own she truly is.

She came up through the ranks of our Academy, winning the FA Youth Cup in 2021/22 and the PGA Cup the following season. Earlier this year, she became the first-ever recipient of the Women’s Academy Player of the Year award.

Cox was involved with the first team last season, but preparing for the new campaign under new head coach Sonia Bompastor has felt like the ‘start of a new school year’ – an apt comparison for somebody who has not long left those days behind her.

‘I’m learning all the time,’ Cox said. ‘There are so many people here I can learn from: the players, the coaching staff and the support staff. There’s a wealth of experience.

‘I have just been like a sponge. I want to learn absolutely everything I can from everyone.

‘The biggest thing I’ve learned is the mentality of coming in every day and giving my 100 per cent. Football is my life now. This is what I want to do for the coming years of my life.

‘On the pitch, it’s definitely been the intensity. It’s a whole other step up from playing in the Academy. I don’t feel out of place which is a good sign. This is a whole other professional level from the coaches to the players.’

Having been at the club for almost as long as she has donned a pair of boots and gloves, the England youth international is determined to achieve good things with the Blues.

There are goals – for the future and for the present - the teenager has already set herself, and now it is time to put the foundations in place to help her reach them.

‘My long-term goals are to keep developing and see how far I can go in the squad,’ Cox said. ‘Maybe in five of six years I could be the starting goalkeeper, but I know I have a lot of hard work to put in to do that.

‘In the short-term, I just want to keep developing and seeing what I can do and where I can excel.

‘I want to add to the team, too. I think I can be a positive voice in the changing room and help with things like that.’

The young goalkeeper believes she is in the right place and learning from the right people to achieve those ambitions. In Zecira Musovic and Hannah Hampton, Cox is working with who two players she holds in the highest regard.

Between them, Musovic and Hampton boast invaluable experience at club-level and with their respective countries – and with many trophies to show for it, too. It is working with them every day when Cox realises the magnitude of her surroundings.

‘They are two of the best in the game,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t want to be learning anywhere or from anyone else.

‘The goalkeeper union is going strong at the moment. I’m really enjoying working with them. It doesn’t feel real sometimes, to be honest!

‘They are people I’ve looked up to and now to be training with them every day – I am still trying to adjust to it, but it has been great to work with them.’

Out with the goalkeepers union, Cox has settled in well with the rest of the group. They have embraced her, just like she has tried to embrace the opportunities she has been given this summer.

‘Definitely everyone,’ Cox answered when asked who has helped her settle in with the first team. ‘Everyone is so lovely here and I honestly couldn’t name just one person. Everyone has been so nice.’

Cox has honed her skills at Cobham since she was eight. Her hard work was rewarded with a first contract, now it is time to write the next chapter...