Fast Fives: Annabel Blanchard

Crystal Palace forward Annabel Blanchard talks Fast Fives after a stand-out start to her second season at the club, having won the Championship’s Player and Goal of the Month awards in October following a hat-trick against Durham. The former Liverpool prospect, now 22, discusses the freedom she feels to express herself in a settled Palace environment, her preference for playing through the middle, and why she still wears the number ten in tribute to childhood favourite Mikel Arteta rather than for footballing reasons. Quickfire rounds cover the fastest player in the squad (on-loan winger Araya Dennis), the most experienced dressing-room mentors, and the teammates most likely to end up on the floor in training without quite knowing why.