“I remember that comment,” Dominic Solanke says, smiling. We are at Bournemouth’s training ground and the striker is considering his career so far: from youth team sensation at Chelsea, through to Under-20 World Cup winner with England, to trying to dislodge Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané or Roberto Firmino in Liverpool’s front three to joining the south-coast club for £19 million last January.

And then there was Jose Mourinho’s remark when he declared that 'The Special One' would not be so special and would “blame” himself if Solanke did not just make it at Chelsea but with England as well.

“I definitely wanted to break through but it got to a point where I just wanted to try and play,” Solanke, who made only one substitute’s appearance for Chelsea, admits. “People might think I was impatient but I was just a young boy who wanted to play football.”

At Chelsea it had felt like only a matter of time before Solanke made it but, following another change of manager, with Mourinho fired and Antonio Conte taking over, his contract running down and a stand-off over a new deal, he decided to leave. He took up an offer to go to Anfield in 2017 in a high-profile transfer which attracted increased scrutiny over his ability to fulfil his potential. Criticism came.