I tried to buy an England shirt on a budget in Manchester's Northern Quarter ahead of Denmark Euros clash

On accepting the assignment, I realised that I had a major problem - I didn’t own an England shirt. For some reason, I had never actually taken the plunge and bought one.

They come with hefty price tag these days so there was an obvious solution - explore the Northern Quarter and see what I can find with a £40 budget. 

First up was Blue Rinse, and anyone who fancies themselves a vintage shopper will have been here before. 

I found some great shirts, there was a nice Belgium one hanging on the wall and a decent-sized rack of other options, but none were England. Disappointingly, there were seven Germany shirts on the rail, sat one after the other seemingly taunting me with memories of that loss in 2010 and the many others that preceded it.

Next up was Cow Vintage, and their great range of menswear that will undoubtedly tempt me back in the future. Despite the promising football scarves on the wall however, I couldn’t find any sporting wares that suited my mission.

Off I went to Affleck’s Palace and in particular Milner and Son which was both brilliantly stocked and brilliantly affordable. I did find an England shirt here for £30 and was sorely tempted to buy it, but there was a fairly sizeable mark on the arm that I did not trust myself to clean properly without damaging the shirt. For those hunting for a bargain, this may very well be the best option in Manchester though. 

Having shopped around now, I found myself drawn to the home of football shirts - Classic Football Shirts. I knew they would have a range of options, but was wary of the price.

Since CFS began operating, they’ve been at the forefront of the movement to bring football shirts into mainstream streetwear fashion and so often have great offers on, but because they are THE place to go, prices can oftentimes be a bit too high for my struggling bank account.

Thus was the case here, there were some great options, including a mint condition Michael Owen shirt and a player issue kit as well, but all were out of my range substantially. The closest shirt to my £40 limit was the away kit from South Africa 2010 which was £44.99 and, as I alluded to earlier, my memories of that tournament are not positive enough to force me to raise my budget.

I ended my hunt at Gone Fishing Vintage. It had a sleek, stylish interior and two England shirts on the rail. One was a recreation of what looked like the 1966 winning kit, and one was the away jersey from 2006. Both were £40 and, due to me being only four years old when the World Cup in Germany took place, I don’t have any negative mental associations with the kit that I ended up buying.

Now I just need Gareth and the boys to get the job done. Not too much to ask is it?