Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have often pounced to sign young English talents, with varying levels of success.
Spurs famously signed Dean Parrett and John Bostock but neither panned out, whilst Luke Freeman was a notable disappointment at Arsenal.
It now seems that the pair both battled it out for Luke Steele, who was earning a reputation as a top prospect at Peterborough United back in 2002 having played two first-team games.
Manchester United ended up winning the race for Steele, but he failed to make a first-team appearance for the Red Devils, ending up at West Bromwich Albion, Barnsley, Panathinaikos, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest and Millwall.
Steele is now 36 and playing Sunday League football as a striker, which he has now admitted to his podcast with Undr The Cosh.
Steele spoke about his early days at Peterborough, an how it all could have been different for him given that there were other teams rivalling United for his signature.
Tottenham had strong ties to Peterborough having signed Simon Davies and Matthew Etherington from the club in 1999, and they wanted Steele just three years later.
Steele has now admitted that Spurs were in the race, and he nearly went to Arsenal instead – but with Barry Fry seeking to sell to the highest bidder, he ended up at United. Who knows how things could have turned out if he headed to North London…
“I’d already been to Charlton, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal,” said Steele. “I nearly went to Arsenal, they tried to sell me to the highest bidder basically. It was weird being in that position,” he added.
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