Benji spurred on by Waddle

Benjamin Stambouli has told us how he discovered Spurs – through the great Chris Waddle.

The midfielder completed his switch from Ligue 1 side Montpellier on Monday.

A title-winning with Montpellier in 2012, Benji was born in Marseille in 1990 - a year after Chris had started to set Ligue 1 alight with Marseille.

Chris, who starred for us between 1985-89, joined Marseille in July, 1989 for £4.5million, making him the third most expensive player in the world behind Diego Maradona and Ruud Gullit.

He went on to win three successibe Ligue 1 titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992 and helped Marseille to the European Cup Final in 1991, where they were unfortunate to lose on penalties against Red Star Belgrade. On top of that, Chris was major player as England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990.

He’s still a cult hero in Marseille – and no surprises that Benji had heard all about the man they called ‘Magic’.

“I discovered Tottenham through Chris ‘Magic’ Waddle and David Ginola, so to join this club is special for me,” said Benji.

“When I searched about Chris Waddle I found he played for Tottenham, so that was always in my head. He was a fantastic player.

“This move is very important to me.

“The whole world looks at the Premier League and a club such as Tottenham, it’s amazing to be here and I’m determined to show people I can play.”

Below: Chris in action for Marseille in the 1991 European Cup Final