Ashley Williams knew this moment was coming. Halfway through his first interview as an Everton player, he is asked to go back to his childhood. Instantly, a telling smile starts to emerge.
When his £9million switch from Swansea to Goodison Park was confirmed, social media became awash with a picture of him as a young boy standing proudly alongside John Barnes, bedecked in Liverpool colours, at the club’s Melwood training base. So does he still have an attachment for the club that will now be fierce rivals?
‘I grew up as a Liverpool fan, up to when I was about 13 or 14,’ says Williams.