Nabil on forthcoming friendlies

Fresh from his experiences at the World Cup, young midfielder Nabil Bentaleb cast his eyes over our forthcoming pre-season friendlies and declared: “They’re important for the players.”

Following the final game of our Tour of the USA and Canada this weekend – a clash with Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday, 7pm local time (1am Sunday UK time) – the squad will return to Hotspur Way before flying out to Helsinki to face Celtic on Saturday, August 2.

We’ll then welcome German side Schalke to White Hart Lane on Saturday, August 9, for our final warm-up match ahead of the 2014-15 Premier League campaign.

Nabil, who helped Algeria make history at the recent World Cup finals by qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time ever, believes much can be taken from these outings as we build up to our opening day trip to West Ham on August 16.

“The matches are very important for the group,” said the 19-year-old, who made 20 first team appearances for us last season following his elevation from the Development Squad in December.

“They will enable us to get going before the start of the season and positive results in friendlies can give you an extra boost of confidence as well.

“The match fitness also benefits you as a player and there’s a bit of team bonding involved too.”