The Ivory Coast international will begin training with the rest of the squad on July 21. He starred in this summer's World Cup in the extremely tough Group C which also featured Argentina and Holland.

The 25-year-old, a graduate of the ASEC Abidjan academy that has developed many of the current generation of Ivory Coast internationals, joined RC Genk of Belgium in 2000 and was a member of their title winning team of 2002.

After four years in Belgium he made the switch to France and went on to make 66 appearances for St Etienne, quickly becoming recognised as one of the leading midfield talents in Le Championnat.

"Didier was regarded by a lot of people as one of the best midfield players going into the World Cup and he proved that in the group stage," said Manager Martin Jol. "A lot of clubs were after him, we had to compete for his services and he is a very good signing."

Sporting Director Damien Comolli, who also recruited Didier from RC Genk during his time at St Etienne, added: "He is a player I know well and I believe he is an excellent signing for us. Didier has had two good years in France and an impressive World Cup.

"Martin was well aware of him also and he was one of the first players he talked to me about when I arrived."

The player himself said the prospect of linking up with the hugely promising group of players already at the Club proved a great attraction for him when it came to determining his future.

"I am very proud to come here and I think it is a great club," said Didier. "I am extremely happy because I think there are a lot of really good players here and I am glad to be joining them.

"The core of the team is very young and we can build for the long term. This is something which really attracted me to the club."

Fine......I guess we'll take Carrick off your hands then

^how bout no

Zokora is a very good player , that is a very wise signing you made there , when he's at his best , he's better than Carrick , more powerful , beat easily his opponents in 1-on-1 , more acceleration and stamina , he's a good ball winner as he showed in the World Cup .

But what you didn't see in the World Cup , is that Zokora is also quite unconsistent , inconsistency was his real problem with St-Etienne , and Carrick has a better reading of the game and overall technique , so you'd better keep Carrick in case , playing them both side-to-side as a DM partners , would surely be one of the best defensive midfield in the Premiership IMO , not comparable with Liverpool's , Chelsea's or Arsenal's defensive midfield , but still very impressive .

who the hell do Arsenal have?

I agree with you though on Zokora, form what I've seen of him he's a very athtletci defensive midfeilder and a very good tackler, while Carrick interecpts more balls thne he wins.

They have Rosicky who can play DM very well , they have Fabregas who's really awesome , especially for his age , and guys like Gilberto Silva who's very experienced and a very good ball winner , also they have young guns like Diaby who's very promising and Flamini who's a good player , solid and clean in his passings .

But i agree that if Tottenham can partner Carrick-Zokora , they have the good basis for a very strong midfield

Carrick can actually go foward really well, we saw that at highbury this season when he goes foward he dominates games and he nearly scored goal of the season aswell.

So for me its gotta be Zokora playing behind Carrick

so something like this

---------Berbatov-----Keane---------
---Left winger?-------------Lennon---
-----------------Carrick----------------
----------------Zokora-----------------
--Ekotto-----Dawson---King---Lee?--
-----------------Robinson---------------

^that looks good, i cant wait for the season to start.

Zokora has been immense for IC in the ACN 2006 and also the wolrd cup. H e played well in but tournaments dominating his area no matter the team he is playing with. a good signing and an indication that Carrick is soon leaving Tottenham

But carrick cant play for you if hes signed to us!

^^ he hasnt signed for you
















yet......

Wow that was good, how bout you jog off back to the Man u glory hunter forum.

Come on lads play fair it was only a joke.

Real might take Carrick of our hands... Doubt it though.

amazing signing for you guys. This guy was easily top3 midfielder in the group stages along with riquelme and xavi. Spurs are definitley giving me a reason to watch more of their games with lennon, berb, and now zokora.

I like Zokora. Strong, quick, aggressive. The sort of player that makes the derby yet more watchable.

I cant see him and Carrick working. They are far too similar. carricks passing is a bit better but zokora is way better in the tackle. I dont think they can work and that carrick will be gone in January if not before then. and probably to United as Capello hasnt really listed him on his list of signings. Though if Cesc doesnt come than maybe acrrick would be second choice. alot of transfers over the next year are gonna revolve arounf 2 things. 1.) capello in Madrid and how much control he has in his signings. 2.) The relegation of clubs in Serie A for match fixing

great signing. it will provide competition for places whitch is good. does anyone know the fee i thinks it is around £8m?

yea its around the 8 million mark but maybe abit lower.



I think they are totally different carrick is a box to box player imo but cos Davids was so poor for alot of the season he was restricted and when he played with Tainio he was able to do alot more and thats when he goes foward.

how much didmuch was he. Everywhere I read it says the transfer was an undisclosed fee, so i want to know does ne1 here have an idea of how much it was. I remember hearing that ettiene would not sell for less than 10 mil(im not sure if it is euros of pounds).

£8.2million is what is being said in all the reports.

is the reason he is not playing in friendleys because he played at the world cup or something else?

He may have been given extra time off because of his involvement in the World Cup but don't forget he's moving to a completely different country so the club may have also allowed him to miss the tour of France, to sort himself in terms of living arrangements and possibly even sorting his work permit, etc...

I don't know but i'm sure he'll join up with the squad for the rest of pre-season when they're back from France, which is just one more game on the 18th I think. Celta Vigo.

Also i'd imagine Carrick, Jenas, Robbo, etc.. will be back from then onwards.

read this guys:

Zokora explains Gunners snub


Didier Zokora has revealed that he chose to come to Tottenham rather than Arsenal because he was excited by the club's ambition.

The Ivory Coast midfielder had the opportunity to link up with international team-mates Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue at Arsenal, but instead opted to switch to White Hart Lane for a fee of around £8.2 million.

He is now set to be entrusted with a key role by Spurs boss Martin Jol, and is relishing the challenge ahead.

"Tottenham are an ambitious club with lots of good young players and for me they are a club for the future," he explained.

"I listened to an offer from Arsenal, but decided Tottenham was the club I wanted to be at. One of the big things was that Tottenham really showed that they wanted me. That really pleased me.

"Kolo Toure and Eboue are friends of mine, and of course it would have been nice to play with them - but I really wanted to go to Tottenham.

"I was impressed by them and I know Damien Comolli, their director of football. I was very impressed by what they had to offer."

Zokora admits that he was ultimately swayed by Comolli, who first took him to France from Belgian side Genk, but was also drawn in by the prospect of playing with the likes of Aaron Lennon.

"Comolli came out to speak to me in Germany and told me what a great club Tottenham is," he reflected.

"He was a strong influence for me because he took me to France in the first place. That wasn't the only reason though, by any means. I chose Tottenham because it's a great club.

"I'm very excited about playing with players like Aaron Lennon, who are the future of English football."

Zokora also declared that it was a shame Michael Carrick had decided to sign for Manchester United.

However, he is aiming to fill Carrick's boots in the heart of midfield and inspire Spurs to glory this season.

"It would have been nice if Michael Carrick had stayed because he's a good player who has played for England," Zokora remarked.

"But that's the way things go, some people stay, some people go.

"There is a lot of pressure but I love pressure. That's what it's all about.

"I wasn't known in England before I came and it's a big price tag so I need to perform even better than the expectations to show people I'm worth even more money than they spent on me.

"I'm an ambitious player. We finished fifth last season, and we've got into the Uefa Cup but this season I don't see any reason why we can't finish in the top four. You have got to be ambitious."

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=40...ns+Gunners+snub

Yea i read this earlier and it does suprise me that he turned them down because two of his good mates play there but as he said he thinks that the future for Spurs is bright and he wonts to be a part of that, i cant blame him.

ok.....Arsenal are younger.....finished a place higher...and have higher expectations....what the boy really means....is that he feels like playing every once in a while....not just in League Cup matches.

^id say that on his performances in the World cup that he would walk into Arsenals midfield...........But anyway.

I guess we have to give Comolli credit for his role. He's finally done something for the club now.

Can't wait to see him playing now. Lets see if he's really good enough to be wearing those awful illuminous orange boots.

you mean the ivory coast tunit upper?


i spend way too much time in the boot room don't i?

Yeah, how can he wear them and not feel stupid. I have tunits... Black tunits.

Well they are the colours of his Ivory Coast team and they make him stand out which is good

He should seriously consider getting dark blue Tunit boots and he looked better with the spiked up hair lol

No, Spurs were younger and we will cream you in the coming seasons.

IF tottenham are the club of the future with Aron Lenon, then what are arsenal with Senderos,Cesc, Flamini, Reyes, Walcot etc?

You've missed a few Spurs youngsters mate. Arsenal are a team of tap dancers while we have players who are talented and more rounded. Not as overtly [and often pointlessly or theatrically] skillful, but with a stronger mentality and a stronger manager. Zokora's made the right decision and I think the psychological difference between the two sides will become evident the next few years.

Nice spelling of Aaron Lennon there.

I have nothign against spurs, infact I like them, I'm just saying, you can't be that gullable and naive to see that arsenal clearly have a better side. Sorry about the spelling, it's evident that English soccer doesn't play in prominent when it comes to what league i choose to watch, but the i don't have to watch or know every team and player religiously to see that Arsenal are overall better than Spurs.

Keep watching.

im a bit pissed that you forgot Van Persie..
imo he will be the future star..

good job though Spurs, hopefully he can help you team out in the coming years.

Let's keep this all Zokora related. If you want to compare arsenal and spurs' squads make a seperate thread.

doesnt suprise me a bit if it is because of ambition obviously martin jol has more ambition than wenger if he wants to buy players that can make a difference and wenger sells them.

likeee arsenal need him....we got fabregas....says it all

well you tried to get him.

why would any player in his right minds snub the more successful club with more of his countrymen and players speaking his language?

obviously this is a fake statement he has made trying to endear himself to his new fans

i think he would succeed more at arsenal but no mattter what you cant change he is a spurs player now and without carrick now he is more vital than ever and maybe the pressure might get to him.

They are different types of players but good job on that comment

We he obviously sees as Tottenham having a better future and can achieve more than Arsenal in a few years

Sorry, you're right he's probably the sickest of them all.

What zokora said about tottenham having a brighter future is spot on, but i think there were more reasons to say no to another big club, maybe he did question his first team place at another club.

he probably saw that carrick might leave, practically securing him a 1st team spot.

I know this thread wouldnt exist if zokora rejected a club besides arsenal, (mmm... wait maybe if he snubbed a 20 million pound chelsea offer...)

i generally dont pay attention to these comments, most of the time the purpose of comments like these is fan support...

I realised there wasn't a proper thread for our midfield maetstro, and I think he really deserves one. So I just merged these two old topics for the sake of it really (yes, I am that bored right now).

He was recently talking about his experiences in the derby games last season...



Do you guys think he will be a big impact for us this season?

Or will he continue to wander in and out of games?

Personally, I really like the guy and hope is continues to develop. And who know's he might even score a goal this season!