Breaking your toes every day does not seem like the best start to a career in football, but in the Belgian city of Lier at the JMG Academy - football’s answer to boarding school - young players are told to leave their boots at home.
Sunderland and Belgium defender Jason Denayer was one of those hopefuls, having escaped the crime-ridden Brussels suburb of Anneessens at the age of 13.
‘The first time I went I took my football shoes. Then I saw the sign at the gates - no shoes, nothing,’ explains the 21-year-old, currently on loan at the Stadium of Light from Manchester City.