Ollie Watkins was just settling into his new place in west London when there was a knock at the door. It was the summer of 2017 and Watkins, who was 21, had recently joined Brentford. Born in Torquay, he was living away from Devon for the first time.
When Watkins peered outside, he saw Dean Smith – his new manager – armed with a fish tank. ‘I used to go and visit the players I signed at Brentford, to have a spy on how they were living, and I used to take them a little present,’ recalls Smith.