A shock Tottenham move for a former Premier League forward was “almost done” before a cruel twist of fate saw the deal collapse, with the unlucky Everton emerging as the transfer saga’s biggest loser, per a trusted source.
While Spurs’ elongated pursuit of Pedro Porro dominated the headlines throughout January, bubbling away in the background was their desire to sign a new forward.
Ultimately, Tottenham landed Villarreal’s Arnaut Danjuma on a six-month loan with an option to buy, much to Everton’s chagrin.
The Dutch international was on the cusp of joining the Toffees after passing a medical. Danjuma had even performed early media duties for Everton, though once Tottenham came calling, he quickly reversed course.
Everton failed to recover from that blow and despite then selling Anthony Gordon to Newcastle, did not sign a new attacker. Even the free agent market has proved cruel for Sean Dyche after losing out to Nottingham Forest over Andre Ayew.
But according to Fabrizio Romano, it could’ve been an entirely different story for both Everton and Tottenham.
Cruel injury blow shaped Tottenham, Everton windows
The trusted transfer guru reported that prior to signing Danjuma, Tottenham had almost wrapped up a move to sign Udinese’s Gerard Deulofeu.
The 28-year-old is a familiar name to English fans having previously played for Watford and ironically, Everton.
Deulofeu has been a revelation in Italy since joining Udinese in 2021. His current tally stands at 18 goals and 14 assists in 68 matches, with his increased end product aided by playing in a front two for the Italian side.
Romano didn’t specify whether Spurs’ deal related to a loan or permanent move, though did stress it was close to completion.
However, an unfortunate knee injury suffered in Udinese’s Serie A clash with Sampdoria laid waste to the switch.
The injury was picked up in the match that took place on January 22. Tottenham signed Danjuma three days later on January 25.
As such, if Deulofeu had not got injured, he would’ve become a Tottenham player instead of Danjuma who in turn, would not have seen his move to Everton hijacked by Spurs.
“We know that Tottenham were looking for an offensive player,” said Romano via his YouTube channel. “Nicolo Zaniolo, then they decided to go for Arnaut Danjuma on loan.
“But I can reveal Tottenham were considering a move for Gerard Deulofeu.
“Udinese player, he’s doing incredible in Serie A and had a fantastic first half of the season.
“He’s already Premier League proven having played for Everton and Watford, also Barcelona, AC Milan in the past.
“An important player with good experience, ready to make an impact and also very appreciated by the [Tottenham] board, but what happened?
“Deulofeu was really close to Tottenham. From what I heard the deal for Deulofeu to join Spurs was almost done.
“But what happened is Deulofeu has an injury, a serious [knee] injury and so he was not available on the market any more right before joining Tottenham.”
Romano reiterated Deulofeu was a “serious” option at Tottenham before wishing him the best in his recovery.
Source: teamtalk
