On Monday night, when he was travelling from Paris to London for his medical at Tottenham Hotspur yesterday morning, Tanguy Ndombélé had plenty of time to reflect upon the path which took him from playing football on his council estate block to the Premier League in fewer than five years. There are different ways to make it to the top and the French international midfielder, whose transfer from Lyons for £62.5 million (£54 million fee plus £8.5 million bonuses) will make him Spurs’s record signing, certainly didn’t take the easiest route.

He experienced snub after snub from clubs not impressed during trials. He was kicked out of the Guingamp academy because he didn’t have the right attitude. He hardly played at first in the French