There have been plenty of transfer near-misses at Tottenham in recent years.
From Jack Grealish to Luis Diaz, there have been a number of deals Spurs nearly got over the line that collapsed at the last minute.
Perhaps the most intriguing signing that Spurs almost made was Bruno Fernandes back in 2019.
The Portuguese midfielder was very close to joining Tottenham during that summer transfer window, but, for one reason or another, that deal collapsed late in the day.
Writing for The Players’ Tribune, Fernandes has now opened up on that failed move to Tottenham, and he says that he was actually very excited by the prospect of joining Spurs at that time.
Bruno Fernandes was excited to join Tottenham
Fernandes spoke about almost joining Spurs.
“The only thing that was concrete was Tottenham. It feels weird to me now, but at the time, I was excited,” Fernandes wrote.
“One of my life goals was to play in the Premier League. I tried to block out all the noise, but in the age we are living in, with social media and phones and text, of course my friends let me know about the rumours.
“As a kid from Portugal, you can’t help but dream a bit about playing at the big grounds in England. In the end, the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement, and the deal fell apart.
“It was a complicated emotion, but I was really happy at Sporting. I felt the love of the fans, and it was a fantastic place for me. But it was not my destiny.”
Imagine Fernandes at Tottenham
This is one of the Premier League’s great sliding doors moments.
If Tottenham had signed Fernandes in 2019, who knows how differently things could’ve gone for Spurs.
Let’s not forget, this was just two months before Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham, but perhaps things would’ve gone differently if Fernandes had come in.
Fernandes, for all of his flaws, is still a world-class creative player, and if you put him in the same team as Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son at that time, Spurs could’ve built on their run to the Champions League final instead of fading away.
Eventually, Fernandes would join Manchester United in a deal worth up to £68m a few months later, and the rest, as they say, is history as Fernandes has gone on to become a key player for United and the club captain.