The Frenchman's eye for a bargain runs deep and his trust in the exuberance of youth has seen some of the game's most exciting talent developed in north London.

Nicolas Anelka, Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Eboue have all arrived for next to nothing ... and there are more potential gems in the pipeline.

A failure to bring on English stars while grooming African, Spanish and French players that benefit their national teams has also drawn complaint. His response? "We represent a football club which is about values and not passports."