Crystal Palace ace Andros Townsend has revealed how his Mum saved his youth career at Tottenham.

He was rejected by Tottenham at 15 after joining their academy as a starry-eyed eight-year-old.

Fortunately his Mum Katerina was not prepared to take no for an answer.

"There was dialogue between my mum and the academy director for 24 hours," he told Daily Mail.

"Then, all I know is my mum told me I was going back to training. I don't really know how she persuaded him or if I was even allowed to train but that was the case."