Tomáš Pekhart was barely 17 when he left the Czech Republic for White Hart Lane. Two seasons later, Premiership Tottenham loaned him, for three months, to Championship Southampton, whose chairman Michael Wilde trumpeted it as “a big compliment” that Tottenham should have “entrusted us with the development of one of their hottest prospects.” First-team coach, Dave Hockaday, was likewise glowing in his tribute to

“a goal machine” who was not only “big and tall, he’s also good in the air, technically very skilled in and around the box and, when he opens up, he’s not slow either.”

That would have been some build-up to live up to even in a decent side, but this was the season in which a team of youngsters was soon struggling. Tomáš would leave St Mary’s on schedule, having had little opportunity to show why he was accumulating U-21 caps – becoming his country’s record-scorer at that level – en route to his first full cap in 2010.

Having departed Tottenham without so much as a substitute appearance, Tomáš returned to England when Sparta Prague played Liverpool in the Europa Cup in February 2011, soon after which he left Czech football again, this time for regular football with Nuremberg in the Bundesliga. He since has spread his wings further taking in spells in Greece, Spain and Israel where he signed for Be’er Sheva, a year too late to feature against Saints when the two sides met in the Europa Cup in 2016.