Tom Carroll: Exeter City's midfield 'brain' on moving to the League One side

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says he only had to watch two minutes of Tom Carroll's first pre-season game to decide to sign him

"He's almost like the brain of the team" is the way Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell describes new signing Tom Carroll.

"He dictates the tempo we play at, when we play fast, when we slow the game down and control the game - he has that understanding and experience," Caldwell adds.

The 31-year-old, who broke through at Tottenham and went on to have spells at Swansea City, Queens Park Rangers and Ipswich Town in the English Football League moved to Exeter this summer.

He has returned to the game after a year away building up his fitness and reflecting on a career that has seen him win England Under-21 honours and make more than 50 appearances for Spurs in all competitions before a £4.5m deal to join then-Premier League side Swansea in January 2017.

"It was a tough decision," Carroll says of taking a year out of the game.

"I had options to come back and play in the league, but I didn't particularly enjoy my time at Ipswich.

"I had a couple of niggles and stuff as well, and I'd got a young family at home so I spent some time with them.

"I was training at Tottenham, so I stayed fit, but I was missing the matchday buzz at three o'clock so that was the hard part. But this year I knew I wanted to get back and play."

So with that in mind Carroll picked Exeter from a number of suitors in the EFL to restart his career, and after a successful trial signed a 12-month deal in July.

"We wanted to look at him physically over a longer period of time, which all credit to him, there was no ego, he understood that process, he understood we were doing that to look after him," Caldwell tells BBC Sport.

"After about two minutes of the friendly at Taunton I was getting the papers ready to sign him because he was clearly that good."

Tom Carroll played alongside Harry Kane while at Tottenham

Carroll's impact on Exeter as their midfield brain as Caldwell describes him, has been incredibly positive.

The Grecians have made a superb start to their second season back in League One - briefly leading the third tier after their 1-0 win over Cheltenham earlier this month.

The club have also reached the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

Their reward is a tie against newly-promoted Premier League side Luton Town at St James Park on Tuesday.

"It just felt like a good fit and I've enjoyed working under the management and the staff, it's a really good dressing room and group of boys, and I'm hopeful we can have a really good season," Carroll tells BBC Sport.

"I've got that experience and people can ask me whatever they want and I'm happy to help.

"I think back to when I was their age and some of the senior boys that had been great with me and it definitely helps along the way."

There is also a chance to match his furthest run in the League Cup with a victory over Luton - having twice played in the fourth round with Tottenham earlier in his career.

"It's a chance to test ourselves against Premier League opposition," he says.

"They've got a strong squad, they picked up a point at the weekend so that'll be a positive for them.

"I want to test myself against the best players, and I'm sure everyone else does, including the manager as well, so it'll be a good one."