Cooper gave up cricket in her early twenties due to an injury, and was picked up by Emma Hayes and Chelsea Women in 2017, winning League Cups and WSL titles with the Blues before joining Reading Women then, this summer, the Magpies.

But despite her success in new sport, there's still one burning desire for Cooper - and that's to throw some off-spinners down the crease and get back to taking wickets.

It's a feat which not many people achieve, but Cooper has played professionally in two of the three most popular sports in England.

"Cricket was actually my first love," the former England cricket academy star admitted ahead of United's opening game of the 2024-25 campaign, away at London City Lionesses.

"I was very good growing up, and I would probably say I was better at cricket than I was at football.

"I used to go and watch my brother play for the local boy's cricket team and one day they were short on numbers so I played for them and fell in love."

Cooper was on the verge of stardom with Kent and the English cricket side, racking up impressive statistics along the way.

The cricketer-turned-footballer is not just an impressive and confident centre-back in black and white, but also a record holder with bat and ball in hand.

"I think I still hold the record for the youngest player to make their senior debut for Kent," Cooper told newcastleunited.com. "I was only 13 at the time.

"I changed sports when I was 21 and stopped playing cricket because of an injury and decided that I was going to really focus on my football, and within the space of a year I signed for Chelsea."

Cricket fever has certainly swept the nation over the past 12 months with the likes of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Sophie Ecclestone and Amy Jones all paving the way for a new generation of cricketers.

The Hundred format was watched by millions this summer and Cooper was a huge fan of the tournament, watching as many games as possible.

Cooper loves taking in as many formats of the game as she can in her spare time, and while she’s determined to have success on Tyneside, there is a nagging thought in her head about what to do once she hangs up her boots.

"I do still miss cricket and the girls because we had a really good group and a lot of them play for England now," she explained.

"I try my best to get down to a few of the games and even managed to watch The Hundred this summer.

"I've always said that when I finish playing football, I'll go back to playing cricket. Even if I can't bowl I'll just throw some off-spinners down the wicket and go back to playing."

Once Cooper came to terms with her devastating cricket injury, she put all her eggs into the footballing basket - something which has paid off massively.

Cooper burst into the Chelsea squad in 2017, but delight quickly turned into despair.

"I played in the Spring Series at Chelsea and managed to get into the starting lineup," Cooper said. "But as soon as I came back for pre-season I did my ACL.

"It was a hard thing to process because I'd worked so hard to get to where I was and then it felt like it had been taken away.

"One thing Emma Hayes did really well was to always make me feel valued and did so throughout my time at Chelsea.

"I was always constantly trying to get back in the squad, but it got to a point where I thought 'I'm not good enough to be here anymore' and I couldn't compete with the players they had."

An ACL rupture is the injury all footballers dread and are, unfortunately, more common in the women's game. Now imagine Cooper's thoughts when she had to return and instantly compete with the likes of Millie Bright and Magdalena Eriksson.

"They had a world-class squad and I just wasn't at that level anymore," she said.

"I'm very hard on myself. I made a promise once I went to Reading that I'd enjoy my football again and that's what I've been doing."

The now United defender joined the Royals after Chelsea and walked into a great environment where she rediscovered her love for football, something she puts down to then-manager Kelly Chambers.

While the scene has changed drastically at Reading over the past 12 months, Cooper holds fond memories of her time there - although was left naturally disappointed about how it all ended.

"It was close to home and just felt like the right place for me," she recalled.

"We had some really good coaches at Reading which really helped me progress my game and was very lucky to play under Kelly.

"Last season was so tough; a lot of the stuff that was going on was happening behind the scenes so as players, we weren't really told much and it was hard to keep it all off the pitch.

"I know they're trying to rebuild, which is great, but that sort of thing shouldn't be happening in women's football."

A free agent this summer, Cooper knew she would have the pick of several Championship clubs but at 31, a big decision was needed to allow her to compete once again. Step forward Newcastle United.

"I knew I wanted an ambitious club that are going to compete. I clicked well with Becky (Langley) and Su (Cumming, head of women's football) straight away and I got to see St. James' Park, which was just incredible.

"When I first met Becky, it felt like a family, which is something you can't force, it just happens naturally. We've got a great group of both players and staff here, so I think the sky is the limit.

"They were asking me what I could bring to the club and everyone I spoke to seemed pretty interested in me.

"I knew I just wanted to be playing for Newcastle United."

Newcastle United Women season tickets for the 2024-25 season are on sale at book.newcastleunited.com.