Sven Botman was nicknamed 'RoboCop' in France, where he won the title in his first season with unfancied Lille. Sit opposite Newcastle United's new £32million centre-back and you appreciate why.
He is 6ft 4ins tall, has an angular, chiselled face and, where other folk have arms and a torso, he appears to have body armour. His strapping frame even obstructs view of the Austrian mountains that surround us. So, how did he end up playing football?
'I was scared of the small hockey ball,' he says, a grin conceding the irony. 'It's really hard. When people smash it, it hurts!