Tottenham Hotspur were unable to sign Donny Van de Beek ahead of Manchester United as Tanguy Ndombele’s failed move away blocked the transfer, the Athletic report.
Van de Beek to Spurs?
Tottenham pushed to sign Van de Beek from Ajax in 2020 when Jose Mourinho was in charge and it was a transfer which apparently ‘excited’ the Portuguese boss.
Mourinho was actually confident of getting the deal over the line, only for Van de Beek to join United instead.
It now transpires that Tottenham were trying to sell Ndombele that summer to fund the deal, but the Frenchman stuck around.
That meant that Spurs couldn’t afford the fee required to finance the deal.
Ndombele actually forced his way back in from the cold at Spurs last season, with his performances under Mourinho improving.
What might have been
But both Spurs and Van de Beek may now be questioning what might have been.
Ndombele has failed to really live up to expectations since his club record move from Lyon and his place under Nuno is still not assured.
Van de Beek, meanwhile, has found things rather difficult at Manchester United since joining for £40 million (BBC Sport).
The Dutchman has never been able to break into their starting line-up on a consistent basis.
Whether he would have been able to do so at Tottenham is very much up for debate.
But the 24-year-old could be forgiven for wondering whether he would have played more if he had ended up at Spurs, like Mourinho was expecting.
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