James Maddison casts a glance around the photographs which adorn the media room at the King Power Stadium, and contemplates some of the figures staring down at him: Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante, Danny Drinkwater, Robert Huth, Claudio Ranieri.
These are Leicester City's miracle men, many of the heroes from the Premier League title-winning campaign - all departed now, but remembered no less fondly for that. It would be an intimidating experience for most, but not Maddison. Instead, Leicester's new £25 million signing is on a mission to make some history of his own.
He has played just 63 minutes in the Premier League, making his debut at Manchester United last Friday, yet it already feels as if Leicester have found a new hero - an attacking midfielder who has piqued the interest of England manager Gareth Southgate.
“This time last year, probably nobody knew who I was apart from Coventry and Aberdeen fans,” he says, in his first big interview since the move. “But I had a great season at Norwich and coming here was the perfect next step. It’s not going to be easy, it’s the best league in the world for a reason, but I’m desperate to be a success here.
“I’m only 21 but feel like I’ve been around for ages. I’ve done the rounds but everyone has a different path. I think mine has shaped up nicely and I’m now in the Premier League which is what every young boy dreams of.”
More on Maddison’s career path later, but his emergence at Norwich last season – where he scored 15 goals and contributed eight assists – has already seen him identified as a future England star.
He made his under-21s debut last year and it can be revealed Southgate was set to invite him to train with the senior squad before the World Cup in May only for Maddison to suffer a knee injury on the final day of Norwich’s season at Sheffield Wednesday.
It seems only a matter of time, though, for a player carving out a reputation as a crafty and streetwise No 10, pulling the strings behind whoever is leading the line.
“My first aim is to become a regular at Leicester but of course the dream is to play for England in a World Cup, it’s the absolute pinnacle,” he says. “Gareth’s not afraid to throw young players in, look at the average age of the squad now. You can’t rule it out, I’ve set myself short-term targets and that would be the aim.
“I think it is a real positive that Gareth has brought the seniors and under-21s closer together. When you train at St. George’s Park, you’re in the gym and on the bikes with the first team – there’s no separation and it’s all integrated. It’s a good time to be an under-21s player.”
Maddison’s route to the Premier League has been a capricious one, so he will not feel out of place in a dressing room including the likes of Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan.
He joined Coventry’s academy at the age of seven, making his debut 10 years later in League One before his move to Norwich in February 2016. Loan spells at Coventry and Aberdeen followed, and he believes that grounding was crucial.
“It definitely toughens you up. It makes you mature from a young age, living away from home. I’ve had to make lots of sacrifices, particularly off the pitch. When you’re coming out of school, your friends want to do other things.
“It’s hard but you have to keep a steady head to make those decisions. It starts early now and if you don’t make those sacrifices, I probably wouldn’t be here today.
“There are quite a lot of young players around now with undoubted talent who get stuck in academies at big clubs. I’m not saying that’s the wrong way to do it because if you’re good enough you can break through, but there’s a lot of players here at Leicester, including myself, who have played a lot of games in the lower leagues and gained experience that way.
“People may look at my age but I’ve come a long way already and there is still a long way to go.”
The close support of his family, father Gary, mother Una and his younger brother Ben, has also been vital and they didn’t miss a Norwich game home or away last season. Gary, a graphic designer, has even set up a YouTube account with Maddison’s best moments from last season [as gazmaddy].
That campaign under Daniel Farke was remarkable for Maddison, emerging as arguably the best player in the Championship behind Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.
A move to the Premier League was inevitable and in June Leicester paid £21m, which will rise to £25m on achievable instalments. He was the biggest signing of Leicester’s summer, yet Maddison proved in just over an hour at Old Trafford that any sceptics can forget about the price-tag.
“That’s irrelevant to me. If you think about the money aspect, you get derailed from what you should be focused on,” he says.
“It was a hard decision to leave Norwich and you have to take into account a lot of things – could I make the step up, do I want to have another season of really showing what I can do? You weigh up all those things and Leicester was the right move for me. I can tell I’m at the right place.”
Also inevitably, there will be comparisons with Mahrez, who joined Manchester City last month for a club-record £60m. Maddison waves them away.
“I’m a different player and you can’t look at it like that. I’m a No 10 and played there for the majority of last season at Norwich in a 4-2-3-1. I also played central midfield for a spell as well. I don’t think you can make comparisons [with Mahrez] and I’ve got to bring my own strengths to the team.”
‘Madders’ is already a popular figure in Leicester’s dressing room and laughs when he recalls how his new team-mates camped around the TV to watch Love Island during the pre-season training camp in France.
He is particularly close with Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray, who also play with England’s under-21s, while being given the No 10 jersey has received the blessing of the former incumbent, long-serving midfielder Andy King.
Maddison will make his home debut against Wolves on Saturday. “I can’t wait to get started and I’ve got a great feeling about it,” he says. “We think we can have a really good season this year. Wolves will be a tough game because they ran away with it last season. We played them at Carrow Road, lost 2-0 and were chasing shadows for 90 minutes. But it’s our first home game and we’ve got to show our fans what we’re about.”