Mauricio Pochettino played a key role in Tottenham's pursuit of Tanguy Ndombele.
Spurs broke their transfer drought with a mega deal for the French central midfielder.
The youngster arrives from Lyon in a massive 65 million transfer.
With several top European clubs after Ndombele, L'Equipe reveals that it was Pochettino who managed to get the player to agree to a move to Spurs.
The source claims that Pochettino and Ndombele met in secret towards the end of June.
Pochettino reported told Ndombele "Yes, it will be hard but I want to keep the Tanguy that you are. The Tanguy that projects, which breaks lines."
Ndombele arrives as a replacement for Moussa Dembele, who left for Guangzhou R&F in January.
