Mendes at home at the Lane

"When I finish training or we have a day off I take her out to lunch or we go into London. Otherwise, she would go crazy always being in the home.

"We talk with friends and family on the phone back home in Portugal and now we have one or two friends here but the big problem is where I live. We cannot get a Portuguese satellite dish to watch Portuguese TV. But I think everything will be all right. If she needs to go back home to Portugal it is only two hours on a plane. It is not a problem."

Postiga had problems with the language here but Mendes, born in Guimaraes, speaks perfect English as a legacy of his education.

He said: "I knew what happened with Helder in England. I spoke to him briefly when the move went through but I didn't dwell on the past. I didn't want to speak to him about that. I didn't think it would be good to remind him."

Should Mendes miss Portugal he can always talk about his homeland with compatriot Edson Silva, an attacking midfielder who joined Spurs from PSV Eindhoven.

These two are among a number of new midfielders at White Hart Lane with other summer signings including Michael Carrick, Sean Davis and Thimothee Atouba.

As well as chiselled good looks that have had some of Tottenham's staff gazing in admiration, what Mendes brings is experience at the highest level. He played for FC Felgueiras and Guimaraes before joining Porto in 2003 to become a member of Mourinho's all-conquering Porto side alongside Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho.

Mendes appeared in 10 of Porto's 13 Champions League games last season, as they went on to win the competition, including the full 90 minutes against Monaco in the final.

Like Carrick, Tottenham's latest midfield recruit, Mendes is hoping his move will earn him regular international football. Despite being called up to all of Portugal's squads prior to Euro 2004, he failed to add to his three caps and missed out on his country's squad for the finals.

He said: "I played with Porto in the Champions League and won everything with the club but I don't know why I have no more than three caps. I cannot answer that question really.

"I know that if I play well at Tottenham I could get into the international squad and that is one of my main ambitions. But we will see. It was an objective of my professional life to play in England. So it was time to try something new. I like the way the game is played in this country - it is fast and physical. I signed my first professional contract at 16. If things had not worked out I wanted to go to university to learn to be a physio. But thankfully, the football went well."

For now, he is focused on helping Tottenham maintain their excellent start under Jacques Santini, who has Robbie Keane back in the squad along with new signings Noe Pamarot and Carrick for tonight's trip to West Brom. Fredi Kanoute is the most likely candidate to step down for Keane.

West Brom gives Mendes another chance to experience the frenetic pace of the Premiership but there is one fixture he is looking forward to more than most - Tottenham's clash with Chelsea on 19 September which will reunite him with his former coach. Mendes said: "Of course Jose will be a success at Chelsea. I spoke to him when I first signed for Spurs and we talked a little bit together. But we haven't spoken since. It was no surprise he came to England also. He deserved to manage a big team like Chelsea in England. He is a very good coach, very clever and his teams like to play good football."

For now, life is rosy for Mendes and his former mentor.