So, who is this Ryan Mason that has forced his way into Mauricio Pochettino's thinking?

The 23-year-old is doing what his former academy team-mates at White Hart Lane can only have dreamed of as he regularly sees his name scribbled on the Tottenham Hotspur team sheet.

To most, he's still a rookie; the new boy getting to grips with the demands of the Barclays Premier League. To him, though, he's anything but.

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Ryan Mason has forced his way into Mauricio Pochettino's thinking at Tottenham Hotspur recently

Mason wins the ball during their 2-1 win against Hull City on Sunday at the KC Stadium

Mason's statistics in the Premier League so far

'I'm not a kid,' Mason adamantly tells the Telegraph. 'I've had a lot of loan spells and have 80-odd league games under my belt so it wasn't really just like I was being chucked in, inexperienced.

'Maybe I'm inexperienced in the Premier League but I feel like I am going in there now deserving my opportunity.'

Those outings on loan included stints at Yeovil, Doncaster, Millwall, Swindon and a spell abroad with Ligue 1 club Lorient in France.

Not forgetting his experience gained at England Under-19 and Under-20 level, too.

But what made him the go-to guy for Pochettino came on a cold, damp Wednesday night at White Hart Lane on September 24, 2014.

Mason scored what turned out to be the goal that meant Spurs eventually progressed to the next round of the Capital One Cup, sending Nottingham Forest home with nothing but what-ifs, maybes and a 3-1 defeat.

Scoring under the night lights at the Lane is what every Tottenham fan will have dreamed of doing as a boy, and Mason readily admits he was no different.

'It's a cliché, but I had dreamt of that,' Mason continues.

'I had always dreamt of scoring at White Hart Lane and to score a screamer... afterwards I'd rather have had a shower and gone home and enjoyed the moment with my family. But it had been live on television.'

He didn't sleep. Not a wink as he relived the moment he put his laces through the ball and it dipped into the net over and over in his mind. It led to 610 minutes in the Premier League so far, with his latest 90 coming against Hull City.

Tottenham won 2-1, and Mason's statistics and heat map prove his contribution - 103 passes, 90.3 per cent accuracy, five chances created.

Mason's impressive heat map against Hull City at the KC Stadium, where Tottenham won 2-1

Mason's statistics from Hull show he was very much involved in the centre for Tottenham

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On Thursday night, though, Mason faces a very different prospect as Partizan Belgrade come to town looking to be a thorn in Tottenham's side.

The Serbian club have nothing to lose and plenty to spoil as Pochettino, while he may not admit it, turns to the Europa League as his best chance to be among Europe's elite next year.

The prize of Champions League football for the winner is reason enough for every team to take the competition more seriously than ever.

The Road to Warsaw can lead you to all sorts of places, and it did so when the midfielder came on as a second-half substitute against Asteras Tripolis in Greece.

Belgrade will give Mason another chance to prove why he is so close to being offered an improved contract by Pochettino. His current deal, which earns him less than £10,000 per week, runs out at the end of next season, and the Argentine manager is keen to tell others to keep their hands off.

Mason wouldn't say no to a simple Spurs win, but the youngster will be dreaming of bigger things.

Mason admits he always dreamed of scoring at White Hart Lane, and may get his chance again on Thursday