Dele Allisits down ahead of his first newspaper briefing on England duty and says: “Oh, my God, there are so many people here.” And, in the futsal hall at St George’s Park, there is plenty of interest in Alli as he begins to explain his rise; a rise that he describes as “unbelievable, yet believable at the same time”.

Only recently turned 21, Alli will earn his 18th cap for England in the World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Hampden Park just over two years after he played his last game for MK Dons in League One. He has become a vital player for club and country, a midfielder whose goalscoring statistics already eclipse Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and his hero, Steven Gerrard, at his age. By 21 he was involved in as many Premier League goals (40) as that trio combined. And already he is a wanted man across Europe.

“When it’s happening, there are moments where you can’t believe this is happening, but then you think, ‘I’ve worked so hard for so long and I’ve made decisions, so it is believable’,” Alli says of his ascent at Tottenham Hotspur to become one of the first names on the team sheet for England. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen that quickly, but you can’t wait for time. When you get chucked in at the deep end, you have to make sure you take the chances and I’m thankful for everything that has happened so far.”