The smell of fresh paint lingers in the pearly white corridors of West Ham United’s new academy headquarters in Chadwell Heath, a modern facility infused with constant reminders of years gone by. On almost every gleaming wall there hangs either a picture of historic success or a glossy image of a graduate from the past.

There are tributes to the players of the present, too. Declan Rice, hovering quietly at the back of the tour, stops for a moment to look at the large picture of himself on the wall outside one of the analysis rooms. While the rest of the party moves on, Rice takes a moment to study the fact file about himself, charting his rise from specky hopeful to full international.

It is a moment of fleeting privacy and reflection for Rice, but he does not have much time to savour it. The tour has been put on for the club’s most powerful figures, here to see the results of their £4m investment, and Rice, as the latest academy success story, has been placed at the centre of most of the activities.

The message is clear: West Ham want to use their sparkly new academy, with its immaculate indoor pitches and high-tech analysis screens, to produce more players like him. It matters to the club that their academy is productive, and there is no doubt that it also matters to their fans.