Jan Vertonghen believes the footballing education he received at Ajax will help him hit the ground running at Tottenham.

The defender finalised his £9.5million move from the Dutch champions yesterday, the latest star to graduate from the famous Amsterdam youth system.

According to Vertonghen, Ajax’s philosophy — keeping possession, pressure and attacking — echoes that of his new club manager, Andre Villas-Boas.

“It is a perfect fit for me and, of course, that will help me settle in,” the defender said. “It is all about ball possession and pressure so that is quite similar to the way Ajax want you to play.

“Villas-Boas is important in that, too, because I know his style and I know how we are going to play football. The system is very important because I won’t need to adapt my style and I can focus on other things.

“I was 16 when I went to Ajax and the youth team played exactly like the first team so that really helped me when I started in the first team. The same thing will help me when I start playing here.

“It was difficult for Villas-Boas at Chelsea because the team did not want to play like he did. That is why Tottenham fit better for him. We have quality players who can play the football he wants to so he will do better here.”

Vertonghen arrives at White Hart Lane with real pedigree, having captained Ajax to a second consecutive Dutch title and been named Eredivisie Player of the Year last season.

The Belgium international racked up 220 appearances for Ajax, has been capped 37 times and is admired by a host of top European managers.

His switch was briefly delayed amid reported interest from Arsenal but Vertonghen says his heart was always set on a move to Spurs.

“I made my choice because of my feeling for the club,” he said. “There were other offers from Premier League clubs but [Spurs chairman] Daniel Levy showed me the right perspective. He invited me to the club, came to see me in Amsterdam and the feeling was good. The personal feeling is important. It didn’t make much difference that Harry Redknapp was sacked. They always told me they really wanted me and that is another reason why I wanted to come here.

“With the players we have, we can play at the top of the League — that has to be the goal. We showed last year that it is possible, we were really close to the top three. There is a lot of confidence in the team and we believe we can take [the good form] to the end [of the season].”

Vertonghen was Villas-Boas’s second signing at Spurs, following Gylfi Sigurdsson’s move from Hoffenheim. The arrivals have linked up with their team-mates at Tottenham’s stunning new £45million training ground this week.

“Gylfi is in my hotel and we go to training together so I have spoken to him a lot,” said Vertonghen. “London, of course, is a great city but I have only been to the training ground and the hotel so I haven’t seen much of it yet. Maybe I will ask a friend of mine for some tips on where to go. But he knows Arsenal better than he knows Tottenham!”

The friend in question is Thomas Vermaelen, whose journey has followed a similar route to Vertonghen’s; Belgium to north London via Amsterdam. Vermaelen was a relative unknown when he arrived in the summer of 2009 but he quickly established himself as a quality central defender.

“I will just talk to him about London I think, not about other teams because the guys in my team can give me those tips,” said Vertonghen. “I played alongside him for a few years at Ajax and he lived in my neighbourhood, so he is a good friend of mine.

“He is one of the Belgium guys who has played in the Premier League and recommended it. The Belgium players [here] have a good combination of talent and mentality that make them perfect for the Premier League.

“There was only one league that I watched when I was back in Holland and that was the Premier League, so it is a dream come true.”

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