"I've always worked hard to reach my objectives and it's just a dream come true for a kid like me to sign for a big club like Paris Saint-Germain," former LOSC star Gueye told This Is Paris on beIN Sports of his summer transfer from Everton.

Gueye's dream started a long way from France. The midfielder - who carries the name 'Gana' on his shirt in honour of his grandfather - grew up in Senegal where football played a central role in his childhood.

"I was born in Dakar and grew up in Cambérène. Ever since I was a little boy, I always had a football with me, I slept with one," he said.

"I went to a few football schools in Senegal and then I did a try-out to go to the Diambars Academy. It was the dream of every young Senegalese footballer to be accepted into this academy, created by Patrick Vieira, Bernard Lama. There were a lot of rules you had to abide by. You had to work hard at school, otherwise no football. I spent my five years there, and then joined Lille in August 2008."

Gueye had to fight his way through the ranks at Lille before becoming one of the team's leaders, and life in the north of France was sometimes challenging for a shy boy from Senegal.

Double delight with Lille

"It was not easy when I arrived. It always rained. I remember my first training sessions, it was raining, and it was going too fast for me. In Senegal, we played on the sand, so the pitch was totally different. Pape Souaré was my teammate at this time and we both had to quickly adapt to this new environment. We worked hard, kept on improving until we were included in the first team. That's how our professional careers began. We are very grateful to Lille who gave us this chance, and for the coach Rudi Garcia for introducing us to Ligue 1."

Gueye had the opportunity to learn his trade alongside some fine talents at Lille. Inspired by the brilliance of Eden Hazard in particular, Les Dogues won the league and cup double in 2011, sealing the title with a draw at the Parc des Princes. A 20-year-old Gueye featured in 11 league games during that tremendous campaign.

"We were lucky enough to be in Lille at the same time as Eden Hazard, Gervinho, Moussa Sow, Yohan Cabaye. Lille really had a great team that won all their games. We joined the club at the right time. We learned a lot from them and it was a great pleasure to see them playing. It was just a dream come true for us as young players. We enjoyed those times as much as we could, without complaining about being on the bench. That enabled us to learn from great players, and winning Ligue 1 as well as the French Cup was just wonderful."

Adapting to English football

After seven seasons at Lille, Gueye made the short trip across the Channel, sampling the Premier League for one year at Aston Villa before moving to Everton for three seasons. Despite his diminutive stature, Gueye had no trouble imposing himself in the English game.

"I'm not the biggest, and that caused me a few problems when I was starting out. When I was in the academy, the coach would often put me on the bench, saying I was too small, that just motivated me to keep working even harder, to work on other qualities that maybe I was lacking, the physical side of my game. Before I was more a technical player that played football. I understood that to succeed, maybe I needed to change my style, become more physical, a bit tougher in the challenge. That allowed me to grow further and become the player I am today.

"That's the way I am on the pitch. I don't like to lose. I love football and for me, that's what football is. That doesn't necessarily mean defending, but having the ball, enjoying the game, bringing my teammates into the game and to do that, you need to win the ball back. So you need players that are there to defend for the team, win possession, and then help the team attack."

Hard work rewarded

Those are exactly the qualities that made Gueye a priority for PSG coach Thomas Tuchel in the summer.

Gueye said: "This is the culmination of all the hard work I've done for years. Here was a coach who said: 'That's the player I need, he's the one I want.' It's all the better because I never expected it. He called me up and I was able to speak with him. Already, on television you can see he's a good person, but speaking to him on the phone, and now to train under him every day is even better. Everyone knows he's a very good coach, but aside from being a coach, he's a very good guy who knows how to manage his squad.

"In terms of the football, it's the opportunity for me to take the next step up in level and to continue improving, and do what I can to help the team."