Ikechi Anya isn’t like most Premier League footballers. The Watford winger doesn’t have an agent. He handled his own contract negotiations. And, perhaps most intriguingly, he admits to being captivated by the human mind.

“I am fascinated by how the brain works,” the Scottish international says. “Maybe I could’ve been a psychologist. I love box-sets and watching things like Grey’s Anatomy and House.

“Obviously it is fiction but the medical conditions and the diagnoses are real. When I watch them I pause the programme and look up the conditions. Some of them, you wouldn’t believe, are real and people suffer from them.”

Given his family background Anya’s interest in science is hardly surprising. His father Chinasa is a research scientist and his brother Chima a doctor. And, for the record, his mother Mariena is an economist.

So if he hadn’t become a footballer would Anya have become another family academic?

“I’ve wondered that myself,” Anya explains. “I was a very good student and my dad always made sure my brother and I did extra after school.

"I am intrigued by the human brain. So maybe I’d have pursued something in that field. But I haven’t got the intelligence for it now. I’ve been institutionalised by just playing football.”

Given the way Anya speaks about the game that doesn’t actually appear to be the case. He is humble, thoughtful and, first and foremost, grateful to be paid handsomely to play a sport he loves.

It is why he doesn’t feel the need to have an agent constantly in his ear.

“I don’t see the need to have an agent,” he admits. “If you know me then you’ll know I am not at all greedy.

“So Watford made me their offer. I asked for what I asked for. And then we came to an agreement. It was as simple as that.”

Anya adds: “I don’t see the need to have a million clauses in my contract either, because I am grateful for the position that I am in.

“I think the majority of footballers - if they weren’t in such a privileged position - would pay to play the game.

“This is an incredible job so why do I want to complicate my life with clauses that state ‘If you do this then you get that’.

“That isn’t me. I am grateful to be here. Watford are happy to have me. So I will sort it out myself.”

And why not? Anya has certainly done a good job at looking after himself. In the past seven years alone he’s gone from playing non-league football to impressing in the top flight and playing for Scotland, the country of his birth.

It is why he says he will never compromise his dreams. He’ll simply try to fulfil them. “Never in a million years did I say when I was at Halesowen Town: ‘I need to keep working hard so I can get into the Premier League’.

“This is far beyond what I expected. So if you tell me that I can win the Ballon D’or I wouldn’t say no. That is my mind-set. So now I think with hard work and my faith in God anything is possible.”

That is a mantra shared by several Watford players this season. Anything is possible. And the Hornets are proving it.

After 11 Premier League games they sit ninth in the top flight and are just as close to top spot as they are to the relegation zone.

Anya believes it is down to the attitude of the players and the influence of Hornets head coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

“We’ve got a few friendly egos in the squad but that belief is good to have,” he says. “And it is important. People like Troy (Deeney) are humble but also arrogant.

"That arrogance is something you need to have because how are you going to perform without it? But humility is important too because then you want to help your teammates.

“You should never hide. That is worse than playing badly. Always keep that in your mind and try to apply it.”

Anya continues: “The gaffer is always willing to teach me and that is one of the reasons we’ve been doing so well. We’ve all been learning and are understanding the game more.

“I know what I need to do if a player makes a certain movement. And you need to know what is happening in all of the surrounding positions not just yours.

“That has helped us to be a team. We are not just good individuals. Like we perhaps were in the Championship. We are a team that knows what each one of his us is doing.”

Anya’s versatility has been vital for the Golden Boys this season. The 27-year-old has played right back, left back and on both wings. He says he doesn’t have a preferred position. As long as he is in the team he is happy.

“I just want to learn,” he explains. “The non-league background has given me a great appreciation of where I am now. Every session is an opportunity to learn.

“So if I am playing left-back in the training session and the manager is talking to Steven (Berghuis) on the right wing then I am still tuned in because maybe I’ll play there next week and he’ll want me to do the same things. As long as people are willing to teach I am more than willing to learn.”

Anya adds: “I am happy to play anywhere. It is a privilege to be in the squad let alone starting games.

“So I will not limit myself. If the manager told me that I was playing centre-back next weekend then I will give it a go (Fabio) Cannavaro style.”