Andrei Shevchenko, the country’s greatest footballer of modern times, and Zinchenko’s hero, told him the Premier League would be tough and that he had to compete in training every day. Zinchenko is passionate about what he regards as the untapped talent in Ukraine, a consequence, he says of the unwillingness of clubs to let players go and an attendant lack of confidence in those footballers.

“Two years ago they [Shakhtar] lost the Uefa Youth League Under-19 final to Chelsea. This is my age-group, my team, born in 1996, I know everyone there because I played with them for five years. They are huge talents. Trust me, everyone is good enough to play in Europe but they have long contracts with Shakhtar or Dynamo Kiev and they cannot move. Maybe they want to they cannot because the clubs close block the way."

He played on loan last season at PSV Eindhoven which helped him adapt to life in western Europe, and he confesses to one culture shock in particular. “In Holland, everyone can sauna together - both women and men - and everyone is naked. For us, it's very, very strange. In Ukraine and Russia, it's not possible. Nobody understands it when I talk about this in Ukraine and Russia. It's strange when you see the son, maybe seven years old, his mum, his grandmother, grandfather - all together naked. Come on now. It's about mentality. That's what I mean. I'm learning every day.”