Lewis Holtby has no regrets about hitching a ride on the Tottenham bandwagon because he is convinced they are destined for the very top.
The 23-year-old quit Schalke for the lure of White Hart Lane in January.
Holtby quickly established himself as a regular under Andre Villas-Boas, only for his status to be undermined by the huge amount of change Spurs have undergone to cope with the world-record exit of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.
In particular, the deadline-day arrival of Christian Eriksen from Ajax has closed off an avenue to Villas-Boas' first-choice line-up, hence the Germany international's selection for Tuesday night's 4-0 Capital One Cup triumph at Aston Villa.
Holtby could be forgiven for a sense of frustration at how events have conspired against him.
He has no such feelings, though.
Instead he is looking forward to the campaign with relish.
"I wanted to come here," he said. "I wanted to have this challenge.
"I could have stayed at Schalke. I could have played there all the time.
"But I wanted to fulfil my dream of playing for a top club in the Premier League.
Source: PA
