Grealish will return to his transfer and its accompanying challenges later, but first things first: those calves. “It’s just something that runs in the family,” he explains. “My grandad always had big calves when he used to play football. But no, I don’t do any calf exercises or calf routines in the gym or anything. Honestly, it’s just something that I’ve had since I was young.” 

And the socks, which call to mind some 1970s maverick almost as much as his dribbling skills and wide grin? “I think I was about 14 or 15 and we were sponsored by Macron at [Aston] Villa, and the socks used to shrink in the wash. In training, obviously, I couldn’t get them over my calves because the socks were so small. So I started wearing them below my calves in training – and that season I ended up playing really well. So then I started wearing my socks beneath my calves in games as well. It was just something that stuck because I’d had such a good season.”

Footballers can be superstitious creatures, finding assurance in little habits amid the pressure swirls of professional sport. Something, you suspect, that Grealish will have appreciated more than ever this season, following the upheaval of leaving his boyhood club, Aston Villa, for Pep Guardiola’s English champions. Last August, a month before his 26th birthday, he swapped Birmingham for Manchester and became the most expensive English footballer ever. There were tears when he said goodbye at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground and his reflections today hint at a meld of emotions.

“It was a massive decision,” says Grealish, a boyhood season-ticket holder who grew up in Villa’s academy and spent seven years in the first team. “I’d been at Villa my whole life, since I was six – obviously growing up, playing for my boyhood club and captaining them. To leave was a difficult decision, I’ve said it plenty of times, but it was something I felt was right at the time. I think it was the perfect time for me to move on, try something new and step out of my comfort zone.”

“It was massive because, like I said, that’s all I’d ever known. I’d been living in Birmingham my whole life, playing for Aston Villa. I’d never left and walked into a new dressing room, apart from when I went on loan to Notts County when I was 17 [for the 2013/14 season].

“It’s been good, I’ve enjoyed it, though it’s been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be in terms of on the pitch, off the pitch, moving to a new city. It’s been different, but I knew that it was going to be like that. I think that’s what life’s all about – experiencing different things – and I’ve certainly done that.”

For the man whose legs inspired a 2022 calendar – “The Wonderful World of Jack Grealish’s Calves” – this has been a season for finding his feet. Eye-opening too. “When I came here it was different, because at Villa and at Notts County, and also when I go away with the national team, you have the same culture, you have the same nationality; most of the lads are English. And here there are only, what, four or five of us who are English.”

He marvels, in his Brummie brogue, at the linguistic acrobatics of his Brazilian team-mates Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho. “Gabi and Dinho, I’m sure they can speak three or four languages each, so it’s unbelievable. It’s something I’d absolutely love to do, but I don’t think I’ve got the patience for it.”

Maybe, but he has needed patience when it comes to the football lessons he is learning under Pep Guardiola. There is a list of players who have required a season to adjust fully to Guardiola’s way of working; Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and João Cancelo spring to mind. By the March international break, Grealish had already made more Premier League starts (17) than any of that trio managed in their first City seasons. Yet a player accustomed to having a licence to roam from his left-flank berth under Dean Smith at Aston Villa has had to adjust to less freedom now he is no longer the main man; he’s become a cog in a meticulously managed machine.

It was a golden summer all in all, notwithstanding the eventual silver medal. “Have you ever heard the quote that you don’t realise how big or how good something is until it’s gone? That’s the case with me. Now I look back on it and I swear, it was unbelievable. It was one of the best experiences of my life, being there for about six or seven weeks. England were so good to us, they did everything to make us feel at home at our hotel and at our camp. I absolutely loved it. It was a shame that we couldn’t get over the last hurdle in the final and losing on penalties is the worst way to lose. It’s the best way to win, but the worst way to lose. There are a few regrets, but I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to play at a major tournament for my country. I think it was a time that brought the whole country together.” 

And his own popularity? The sense he conveys of a footballing free spirit certainly helps. So too the cheeky smile and characteristically honest and open-hearted musings in media interviews (which extended last summer to revealing the secret behind those glossy locks: Moroccan hair oil). 

“It was obviously nice to have the whole country rooting for us as a team,” he says. “Even for myself – I’ve seen stuff on social media and it was nice to have that support from everyone. But for us as a team it was just unbelievable to have the whole country behind us. It was a summer that I’ll never ever forget and after leaving that summer, it makes me want to strive for more and have that feeling again. So hopefully we can.”

“It was the perfect time for me to move on, try something new and step out of my comfort zone”

First, though, is the quest for honours with City. At the time of writing, Guardiola’s side are pursuing trophies on three fronts. That’s another new experience for the 26-year-old, who is certainly savouring his first season of Champions League football.

He recounts a conversation with John Terry, formerly a member of the coaching staff at Villa. “I always remember JT said to me, ‘Wait until you’re standing up and you’re hearing the Champions League anthem,’ And I thought, ‘Oh, really?’ 

“I didn’t really think anything of it at the time but then, when I was standing there, I just thought back to when he said it, and I was like ‘No, this is unbelievable,’ listening to that anthem. It’s such an iconic anthem as well. Then to have the start that I did, scoring and assisting in the same game, on my Champions League debut, was a dream for me.”

That was in September’s 6-3 home win over Leipzig, an explosive start as last season’s runners-up set about trying to go one step further. The hope now is for an even more spectacular conclusion. 

“Most of the lads here have won everything, numerous times as well, so I think that’s the one that everyone wants this year,” says a man still seeking his first senior honours. “It’s brilliant if we can go and win every competition that we’re in, but that being one that we haven’t won yet, that’s what we have our eyes on.” 

The words of a man now seeking the biggest high that club football can offer.