New Barcelona signing Frenkie de Jong has revealed this week that he was tempted to join Tottenham Hotspur last summer.
With Spurs failing to make a single signing across both transfer windows in the 2018/19 campaign, we certainly had plenty of rumours during both periods, but with us not getting a deal over the line for the 21-year-old Ajax player, he agreed a deal with the Nou Camp outfit and he will officially make the move for a reported £65million on July 1.
According to Sky Sports, he explained.
“I considered their offer long and hard. I see Tottenham as a very stable club, and they are only getting better. They give young players a chance and I see Mauricio Pochettino as a manager who really improves young players. I like the kind of football they are playing. I think it would have suited my game.”
No doubt some fans will be delighted to see that we were, in fact, active over the summer, others will no doubt believe the transfer fee came into it and that ultimately was why a deal wasn’t done. It’s one of those where depending on which side of the fence you sit, it’ll probably back up your opinion.
What I take from it, is given how highly rated the player is, the glowing terms to which he talks about the club in.
He went on to add.
“The moment wasn’t right. I wasn’t finished at Ajax, as I hadn’t yet played a full season in my own position. I was also injured in that period, so I was thinking, ‘Not yet’. I felt I should stay for another year at Ajax, or perhaps longer.”
Shame we didn’t rechase the idea in January and really give him a question to answer.