Speaking on Talksport radio, David Ginola has said he recommended Dimitri Payet to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

“I had a discussion one night with Spurs players, former players and chairman Daniel Levy about French players coming through and who would be good [for Spurs].”

“And I said, ‘well there’s one out there right now, Dimitri Payet.’ This was a few years ago when he was still playing at Lille, and I told him Payet would suit English football”

“I’m not surprised to see him being successful at West Ham. He had a good spell at Marseille when he left Lille, but it wasn’t the best of Dimitri we saw. He’s improved since he signed for West Ham but his very best is yet to come”

“But he could have been a Spurs player.”

“I saw in him the flair you associate with Tottenham players, the flair game of Spurs’ history. Dimitri Payet was fitting pretty well in that image of what a Spurs player should be.

“It’s amazing to see him playing so well and I’m just pleased to see I wasn’t wrong. I was absolutely right to see him as a great asset for English football.”