Callum Hudson-Odoi is talking peacocks and crocodiles, key features of his south London childhood, though not always in a good way.
To start with, the peacocks. Hudson-Odoi was brought up in Colliers Wood, a typical south London suburb.
He went to Whitgift School, an independent school in south Croydon with a touch of Hogwarts about it, whose alumni include Chelsea title winner Victor Moses and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.
Street-smart from his time playing football in caged pitches in his local park, Hudson-Odoi was not quite ready for exotic birds that roam freely in Whitgift’s grounds.