“Wilfried Zaha, they tried to sign him in 2016, they made a real lowball offer that annoyed Steve Parish. At that point Spurs needed one more really explosive final third player,” Pitt-Brooke said.

“If they signed Zaha I think he would’ve been fantastic. The other forward they looked at in 2016 and they nearly got him I think, was Sadio Mane who has obviously turned out to be an unbelievably good footballer.”

Jack Grealish famously nearly signed for Tottenham back in 2018, but the deal collapsed at the last minute.

Now, Tottenham are reportedly back in talks to sign Grealish, and it’s interesting to revisit what the Manchester City star said about his failed move all those years ago.

What Jack Grealish said about failed Tottenham move

Grealish was very open about the fact he almost joined Tottenham.

Indeed, the former Aston Villa star told The Telegraph a few months after his transfer saga that he was disappointed that a move didn’t happen.

“Of course there’s going to be disappointment there. They’ve beaten Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, they’re playing Barcelona in the Champions League next week,” Grealish said.

“I felt that if I’d gone there I could have maybe been in the England squad by the end of the year.

“At the start of the season my head was swivelled, it was all over the place. Even after the transfer window closed, until the end of August, I wasn’t right.”

Grealish stats since last season

Grealish’s links to Tottenham this time around seem to have come from left-field, but this is a move that could make sense.

Grealish isn’t getting the gametime he would want at Manchester City. His minutes since the start of last season certainly aren’t what you’d expect from a such a marquee player.

Grealish, sadly, seems to have gone backwards at City, and after missing out on the England squad for the Euros over the summer, he may want a change of scenery to rediscover the form that made him a £100m player in the first place.

Grealish has previously called Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham an ‘unbelievable’ team, and as his comments a few years ago showed, Spurs are capable of turning the player’s head.

This is certainly a situation to keep an eye on heading into the January transfer window.

Related Posts