Defoe, who has begun the season in rapid scoring form for Spurs, openly admits his admiration for Wright and the good news for him is that his mentor believes he is a better player than he was at the same stage.

"The only thing that’s the same about us is our height," revealed Wright when we caught up with him for an exclusive chat. "Jermain is about three years ahead of where I was when I was his age.

"The things that I had to learn, like hold-up play, first touch and finishing, he does naturally.

"I used to train with him when we were both at West Ham and I knew then that he was going to be something special. I’m so pleased for him in the way he’s progressing because even though he’s been in football since he was young he’s still got the hunger to learn and he listens.

"I speak to him all the time. I want him to avoid some of the pitfalls that I fell into. There’s no one better to keep him on the straight and narrow than me."

There is of course another player in this England squad that Ian speaks to on an even more regular basis – his son Shaun. There is no mistaking the fatherly pride that Wright Senior takes in watching Shaun play.

"I was more nervous than he was when he made his debut for Man City," says Ian. "Shaun just takes it all in his stride because he’s such a good footballer.

"He plays football the way it’s meant to be played. Even if he was a complete stranger I’d still love watching him play because he’s so exciting.

"I don’t have to give him too much advice. The only thing that I really do try and impress on him is not to give the ball away. That’s so important and, the higher the level you play, the more important it gets. So I tell him, even in training, to concentrate his mind on not giving the ball away.

"Mainly though I just encourage him to go out there and express himself. I’m there to top-up his confidence whenever he needs it."

So do he and Shaun ever have a kick-around together?

"Well I sometimes play in the 5-aside gym at Arsenal and in the summer Shaun came down and joined in with us," reveals Ian. "We had a good chemistry on the pitch and he knew that he had to pass to me, not just because I’m his Dad, but because I’m his senior!"

Soon the Wrights could be putting almost a whole team out. Following in Shaun’s footsteps at Manchester City is his younger brother Bradley.

"Bradley’s come in and played a few games recently and he’s been quite nervous," explains Ian. "There’s a bit of pressure on him because of what Shaun’s achieved but he’s coped with that and he’s getting bigger and stronger all the time so hopefully he can continue to improve."

Meanwhile, should Shaun impress Sven against the Ukraine, he may carve out a chance for himself to play on the greatest stage of all – The World Cup Finals. If England can get there and Shaun can feature, he will have achieved something that was beyond even his illustrious father.

"Injury kept me out of the 1998 World Cup, which was a huge disappointment, especially when Glenn Hoddle told me that he definitely would have picked me," admits Ian.

"But perhaps that was just meant to be in my career. Perhaps I got everything I could out of the game and perhaps it’s meant to be for Shaun to take it to the next level."