Tottenham Hotspur missed out on signing Barcelona talent Ansu Fati despite him having a ‘long chat’ with Ange Postecoglou.
Ansu Fati turned his back on a move to Tottenham Hotspur having been persuaded by Roberto De Zerbi.
That is according to BBC Sport, who claim that Fati looked set for a move to Spurs before De Zerbi’s intervention.
Barcelona were happy to loan Fati out ahead of the summer transfer deadline, feeling that he wouldn’t play a key role under Xavi this season.
Once backed for stardom and given Lionel Messi’s number 10 shirt at Camp Nou, Fati needed to get back on track after a couple of difficult seasons – and he chose a move to the Premier League.
Ansu Fati had ‘long chat’ with Ange Postecoglou over Tottenham Hotspur move
English clubs were unsurprisingly keen on Fati having previously seen his talent and potential in a Barcelona shirt.
A purchase option wasn’t really in Barcelona’s mind; they just wanted a loan in order to see Fati progress ahead of his return to the Camp Nou.
Tottenham Hotspur were very interested, seeing Fati as a versatile forward option who could play across the front line.
BBC Sport’s Guillem Balague now reports that Fati had a ‘long chat’ with Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham were considered favourites to land Fati with Postecoglou seemingly trying the personal touch in order to tempt Fati.
Brighton and Hove Albion managed to hijack the move though with boss Roberto De Zerbi persuading him to reject Spurs.
It’s stated that Fati and De Zerbi ‘hit it off right from the start’ and the 20-year-old subsequently chose to snub Tottenham after all.
How has Fati fared at Brighton so far?
Fati hasn’t yet started a Premier League game for Brighton but has made three substitute appearances, totalling 116 minutes of action.
The Spaniard scored his first Premier League goal last weekend, hitting Brighton’s only goal in a 6-1 thrashing at Aston Villa.
Fati did land 90 minutes of action against AEK Athens in the Europa League but couldn’t prevent a shock 3-2 home defeat.
Fati has only been on the South Coast for just over a month and, when you factor in the international break, it’s still very much early days for him with the Seagulls.
De Zerbi will be confident that Fati can make a big impact this season – potentially in two games against Tottenham in December and February.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
