John Bostock opens up on his failed Tottenham Hotspur spell.
John Bostock has told L’Equipe that he never would have joined Tottenham Hotspur if he could turn the clock back.
Bostock was one of the most exciting young talents in English football when he swapped Crystal Palace for Tottenham as a 16-year-old back in 2008.
By virtue of the fact he never played a Premier League game for Spurs during a five-year spell on their books, you could say that he was anything but a success in North London.
Now 26, Bostock, who had five disappointing loan spells away from the Lilywhites, is now plying his trade in Ligue 1 with Toulouse – the 12th club he has represented.
It has been a long way back to top-flight football for the midfielder, who joined Royal Antwerp after leaving Tottenham, and the man himself claims now that he probably should have stayed at Crystal Palace:
He told the print edition of L’Equipe: “My agent, my family, people put a lot of pressure on me to leave. It was not my choice. There were different reasons I left, including the pressure of money. But I think I should have stayed there because I had chances to play. If I could go back, I would stay.
“Now that I’m older, I appreciate those hard times because they helped me become stronger. But, initially, they [unsuccessful loan spells] almost broke me.
“There was even one time I was close to stopping. When you love something so hard and it does not work, there is nothing worse. It’s not that I did not like this sport anymore, but I had lost confidence.”
Bostock never started a competitive game for Spurs in any competition, making just the four substitute appearances in total.
But he’s clearly still a talent, after winning Ligue 2 Player of the Year in the 2016-17 campaign with Lens, ultimately paving his way to join Toulouse.
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