Lunch time in Liverpool city centre and Adam Lallana is holding court in his favourite hideaway. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee hangs heavily in the air but all the England international can smell at this particular moment are joss sticks and aftershave.
Lallana, you see, is talking about his relationship with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. To give context of how they became so close, he needs to take us back to Southampton in 2013 when, unbeknown to many, the midfielder was going through one of the most difficult spells of his career.
‘I hadn’t really heard of him before he came,’ Lallana explains.