French champions Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of midfielder Benjamin Stambouli from Tottenham Hotspur.
Having moved back to his native France for a fee believed to be around €9 million (£6.2 million), Stambouli leaves England just one year after signing for Spurs.
Early years
Born in the South Coast city of Marseille in France, Stambouli spent his early youth years with Olympique de Marseille. However, it was not until Stambouli moved a few miles West to Montpellier that he started to make a name for himself.
The defensive midfielder signed his first professional contract with Montpellier in March 2010 as he established himself as a first team regular, making 26 league appearances in his debut season.
Stambouli, and Montpellier, enjoyed the largest part of their success together in the 2011/12 season. Against all the odds, especially considering the size and stature of rivals PSG and Lyon, Montpellier won the Ligue 1 title for the first time in the club’s history.
Fellow regulars and stars of that campaign have since moved to England in the form of Olivier Giroud and Remy Cabella, now at Arsenal and Newcastle United respectively.
Despite being promoted to vice captain at Montpellier in the 2013/14 season, Stambouli found the lure of the English capital and Premier League football too much to turn down when Tottenham came calling in the summer of 2014.
Moving to London
Late in the 2014 summer transfer window, it was announced that Stambouli had moved to the North London side for an undisclosed fee rumoured to have been worth up to £5million.
Despite being a relatively unknown entity outside his native France, Stambouli looked to provide competition for Etienne Capoue and Nabil Bentaleb in the heart of Tottenham’s midfield.
However, the form of Algerian international Bentaleb, and the rise of English international Ryan Mason, meant Stambouli found first team opportunities hard to come by in his debut season.
Making just 12 Premier League appearances, Stambouli was used predominantly in cup competitions, making a further 13 outings in the lilywhite of Spurs.
Scoring just one goal for the club, against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League last November, Stambouli was mainly used in a holding role, breaking up play and allowing the more creative midfielders around him the license to roam.
Stambouli made his debut for Tottenham in the 2-2 draw away at Sunderland in September, coming on as a second half substitute. Despite playing fewer minutes than most of his teammates, Stambouli recorded the highest number of interceptions in the game as Mauricio Pochettino’s side left with a point.
From one capital to another
The aforementioned lack of first team opportunities at White Hart Lane has given Pochettino cause to think Stambouli would be better off pursuing his professional goals elsewhere. Having seen fellow Frenchman Capoue move across London to Watford, it had looked likely that Stambouli would follow suit.
Despite a fee reportedly being agreed between the two clubs, Stambouli was reluctant to make a perceived step down to last season’s Championship runners-up.
Almost out of the blue, and as a surprise to some, PSG have since swooped in to sign Stambouli at the eleventh hour.
Having sold Yohan Cabaye to Crystal Palace recently, PSG were on the lookout for a home-grown central midfielder happy to play second fiddle to Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti. Stambouli looks to have been identified as the player to fill Cabaye’s boots in the coming seasons.
Stambouli will now join up with the rest of his new teammates in the United States as part of their tour and participation in the International Champions Cup, where they face Italian side Fiorentina this evening.
Proud to have joined one of Europe's most prestigious clubs
On joining the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France holders, Stambouli expressed his delight at moving to a club the size of PSG explaining how the stature of the club made his choice “a lot easier".
Having signed the contract, the Frenchman described how he finally experienced “the power of the club” once the transfer had been completed.
PSG president Nasser Al Khelafi echoed the excitement of Stambouli over the completion of the transfer. Mentioning how Stambouli is a French home-grown player, Al Khelafi mentions how he has “already proved the impact that he can make in midfield both athletically and technically”.
The reputation Stambouli has back home in France does not seem to have been tarnished by his spell at Tottenham, with Al Khelafi stating “France is going to rediscover a player that was full of promise”.
Future international recognition
Still only 24 Stambouli, a three-time France under-21 international, will be looking to receive full international recognition with potential games in both Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League coming up.
With places up for grabs, Stambouli will be hoping to make himself aware to France boss Didier Deschamps with Euro 2016 - held in France - coming up next summer.
A point to prove
With many doubting whether Stambouli is capable of making a mark in Paris, at a club as prestigious and successful as PSG, the Frenchman will be hoping to prove many in England wrong as he looks to add to his Ligue 1 title collection.