Pape Cheikh Diop may be regretting not joining Tottenham Hotspur with his career now going in a very different direction.
A number of players slipped through the Tottenham net under Mauricio Pochettino.
Paulo Dybala springs to mind, as do players like Jack Grealish, Sadio Mane and even Harry Maguire.
Those deals could have made the outlook very different for Tottenham and Pochettino.
There are some moves that Tottenham came close to making but will be relieved they didn’t happen.
Sadio Berahino is the clear candidate here but Pape Cheikh Diop may just fit a similar kind of bill.
Pape Cheikh Diop rejected Tottenham Hotspur
Cast your minds way back to 2017 and Tottenham were pushing to land Diop from Celta Vigo.
The Daily Mail reported that Tottenham had been tracking Diop for months before launching an official approach.
Yet Diop didn’t end up joining Tottenham and instead completed a move to French side Lyon just a few weeks later.
Diop had earned great reviews in La Liga and it looked like Tottenham had missed out on a real talent at just 20.
Diop twisted the knife a little as he told Spanish newspaper AS that he had ‘guessed right’ by picking Lyon over Tottenham.
“It was a hard decision,” said Diop. “Tottenham also wanted me and the truth is that their name sounded louder… but the idea of Lyon attracted me. I knew it was a club that works with young people, you work with them, they help you grow. And I think I guessed right,” he added.
Fast forward a few years and Diop’s career hasn’t quite gone according to plan.
Diop struggled with injuries at Lyon and was only ever able to make 25 first-team appearances as he was loaned back to Celta and then to Dijon.
Diop’s deal at Lyon expired last summer and penned a surprise deal with Aris Thessaloniki over in Greece – only to be released in January.
That was a new low for Diop’s career and he has now returned to Spain, signing for Elche until the end of the season after impressing in trial.
Elche sit bottom of La Liga with just nine points from 22 games and are a whopping 13 points from safety.
Diop and co have a real battle on their hands to stay up and the 25-year-old may simply be playing for a contract next year.
In another world, Diop was able to fulfil his potential at Tottenham; instead, his decision to snub Spurs and join Lyon hasn’t really paid off and he must turn his career around quickly.
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