Bongani Khumalo claims Spurs move was his best moment – despite never playing for them

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Tottenham Hotspur snapped up Bongani Khumalo in 2011.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Bongani Khumalo has told SPORT24 in South Africa that his move to Spurs was the highlight of his career – even though he never made his debut for the club.

Spurs have made their fair share of bizarre signings of the years, just like any other club, and the deal for Khumalo stands out as a particular eyebrow-raiser.

Khumalo had been turning out for SuperSport United in his native South Africa, and whilst Spurs had links to them at the time, nobody could have predicted Khumalo’s move.

The centre back featured for South Africa at their home World Cup in 2010, and even scored against France in a shock victory, with Tottenham confirming just months later that he would joining in January 2011.

Khumalo spent four-and-a-half years with Spurs before his contract expired, and whilst he regularly appeared in the reserves, he didn’t make a single competitive appearance for the club.

He did go out on loan to the likes of Preston North End, Reading, PAOK, Doncaster Rovers and Colchester United, before his Spurs deal expired and he returned to SuperSport United and now Bidvest Wits.

Spurs fans will always think of Khumalo as a bizarre signing, but the man himself has told SPORT24 that the move was the highlight of his career – even with no debut for the club.

Khumalo credits the move for helping him grow as a player and as a person, and really wanted to fight for his future with Tottenham, but was loaned out to another club every time he returned to North London from a loan elsewhere, making it clear that he had no future with the club.

“That move was the highlight of my career, even though I have had a number of them in my life,” said Khumalo. “I grew as a player and, generally, as a man in this world. I went to Spurs quite a very young guy and, obviously, at the same time, quite raw as well. I didn’t have all the attributes of the European game and the mentality of the game as well. It was totally different to what I was used to and that’s what I had to learn.”

“I had to try my best to get my games and was pushed to my limits. Going on loan to various clubs was part of the process of helping me to get a good understanding of the game and game-time under my belt. Although I would have loved to stay at Spurs and fight for my place there, the thinking behind the loan moves was for me to come back stronger and have that chance to challenge for a place in the team. Unfortunately, whenever I came back into the team, I would get loaned out again,” he added.