At the age of 12, Nayim left his hometown of Ceuta and joined FC Barcelona's youth academy La Masia, as the first team was managed by Terry Venables, but had very few opportunities over the course of two seasons. He arrived at Tottenham Hotspur in November 1988 originally on loan, signing the following year for £400,000; his first goal for the club came in a 2–0 win at Southampton, and he also found the net in Spurs' 3–0 home success over West Ham United.