This interview originally appeared in the Crystal Palace v Southampton matchday programme. You can shop for programmes by clicking HERE.
It was the day after Crystal Palace’s resounding 3-1 win away at Brighton & Hove Albion, back in December, that we originally got the chance to sit down with Will Hughes.
Palace have won 10 of the 16 matches they have played in all competitions since that day – but such has been Hughes' consistent excellence this season, his words very much still ring true.
A week prior, in his 99th game for the Eagles, Hughes had recorded two assists in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Selhurst Park, winning plenty of plaudits for his dominant display against the likes of İlkay Gündoğan and Kevin de Bruyne.
It figures, then, that with Hughes’ milestone match arriving amidst arguably his best season so far at the club, ‘100 Palace appearances’ was the statistic we – media team hat firmly on – had at the forefront of our minds at the start of our conversation back then.
The obvious place to start: was Hughes himself aware? “Nope!” he laughs. “One of my mates texted me afterwards saying he didn’t realise it was 100 appearances… I was like: ‘Neither did I’!
"But it’s nice for me – a nice stat. Hopefully I’ve many more to come.”