You can hear Troy Deeney coming, his voice booming as he walks down a corridor at Watford’s training ground. He arrives with a toothy grin and a bone-crunching handshake and immediately dominates the room. He fits a certain archetype — “the biggest target man in the Premier League,” as Pep Guardiola lauded him on the touchline at Vicarage Road last season.

He laughs at the portrayal. “Can you do me a favour and mention how small I am?” he says. “Everyone goes, ‘Oh Troy Deeney: big target man’, but I’m only just 6ft. Chris Smalling is 6ft 4in. I’m a dot next to him. And someone described me as ‘angry’ the other day. Do I really come across as angry?”

Hmm. Occasionally, Troy, yes. Aggressive