Besiktas defender Fabrice N’Sakala has admitted that he turned down a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, while speaking La Derniere Heure.
Unfortunately, the 31-year-old stopped short of telling us exactly when he spurned Tottenham’s advances.
All we know is that Spurs’ offer arrived before N’Sakala swapped Anderlecht for Alanyaspor, some four years ago.
Maybe – and this is just guesswork – Tottenham came calling back in 2015, after N’Sakala caught the eye with an impressive display during Anderlecht’s narrow 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane in the Europa League group-stages.
Moussa Dembele struck an 87th-minute winner that day for a Spurs side containing Ryan Mason, Kieran Trippier and Josh Onomah.
Did Fabrice N’Sakala make a mistake turning down Tottenham?
“As a player of RSC Anderlecht, I received offers from Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma,” explained N’Sakala, the former France U21 international left-back who now has 11 caps for DR Congo.
“However, I chose a different challenge.”
The versatile N’Sakala is plying his trade at Besiktas these days, winning a league and cup double during his debut season at the Istanbul giants.
Tottenham, now under the stewardship of Antonio Conte, are unlikely to renew their interest any time soon, however, given that chairman Daniel Levy is not exactly renowned for signing players with 30 or more candles on their birthday cake.
Sitting ninth in the Premier League table but still within touching distance of West Ham in fourth, Conte will make his managerial debut for Spurs during Thursday’s UEFA Conference League clash with Vitesse Arnhem in North London.
Tottenham have slipped to third place in their group, losing 1-0 in the Netherlands in their most recent fixture while also dropping points away to Rennes in France.
So far, their only Conference League victory came at home to Slovenian minnows NS Mura.
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