Kyle Walker remembers the days when money was too tight to mention. He is reflecting on his journey, from straitened times on the Lansdowne Estate in Sheffield to his newfound status as the most expensive defender in world football, when he plucks something from his memory bank — a story that he feels will make that journey easier to understand.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before,” the £54 million man says, sitting down at Manchester City’s training ground in advance of tonight’s meeting with Chelsea. “When I used to play out on the estate, we used to have these things called verandas — balconies — and when the ice cream man, Chris, came round, all the kids would whistle up and ask