Tottenham’s Dominic Ball looking to make his mark at Rangers
Friday 14 August 2015 18:12, UK
Dominic Ball has revealed how Rangers flirted with Tottenham before enticing him to Ibrox.
The 20-year-old defender, who can also play in midfield, arrived in Glasgow on a season-long loan along with his 19-year-old Spurs team-mate Nathan Oduwa.
Ball spent the second half of last season on loan at League Two Cambridge United and said he was wooed by the opportunity to test himself in a different environment.
"I got a call from my manager at Spurs saying that there was a bit of flirting from Rangers,” he said.
"He said I'll speak to you again Monday and then after a game on Monday they told me there was something more secure, more solid.
"My immediate thought was okay, this is massive but is it true? I didn't want to get too excited if it wasn't 100 per cent to start with.
"I thought about it, spoke with my dad and I thought 'yeah, let's do it.' I was at Cambridge last year, it's a great club but it's massive up here at Rangers.
"This is a stepping stone towards going back and hopefully doing well at Spurs."
Ball was impressed with Warburton when he worked under him at Watford.
"I used to train with Mark at Watford when I was much younger, from the age of 11 to 16,” he added.
"I loved him as a coach then and obviously, with what he did with Brentford last year, I thought this was a great opportunity to play under him again."
Ball and Oduwa are both available for the trip to Alloa in the Ladbrokes Championship on Sunday, according to Warburton, who said: "The two new boys have come in and I'm delighted to secure them.
"There will be one more early next week and then we'll be almost done. Nathan has been with the Spurs first-team through pre-season and has been involved in their key fixtures.
"He is a talented player. He's flexible and can play anywhere across numbers seven, eight, 10 or 11. He's a real athlete too.
"Dominic is someone I signed when he was a young boy at Watford, and he has now grown into a comfortable international centre-half, and both players have huge potential. I'm delighted and very thankful to Spurs."
