But it was these three years on the road, touring the country in “have boots will travel” style, going where Spurs could place him to give him first-team experience that has so shaped the man of the moment, and the man of the match at Villa Park yesterday. Other influences served to accelerate the 22-year-old’s development, including a determination to generate the right headlines after his ban for gambling. Injuries to Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott opened up opportunities for club and country respectively. But those loan months sharpened this desire to seize his chance when it came at Spurs.