'I'm not bitter': Former Premier League striker reveals he almost joined Spurs under Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur made a number of signings under Jose Mourinho; some good, some not so good, but the club almost acquired a former Premier League striker in what would have been a very cheap deal indeed.

Troy Deeney spoke to Jose Mourinho

Troy Deeney is largely synonymous with Watford and the Hornets’ time in the Premier League, having played over 400 times for the club and scoring 140 goals there.

But, he very nearly joined Spurs back during Jose Mourinho’s tenure as Tottenham Hotspur boss, before the Portuguese coach opted to sign Carlos Vinicius instead.

This is not the first time Deeney has spoken about his proposed move to Tottenham, having previously explained he even met with Mourinho to discuss a move that would have seen him play understudy to Spurs legend Harry Kane.

Deeney was more than happy with that idea, but the move never came through as Mourinho looked at different options to add to his attacking roster.

Details of Troy Deeney to Tottenham transfer revealed

Now, Deeney has once again talked about how close he came to that transfer to North London, and it sounds like Tottenham could have gotten a very affordable deal if it had come to fruition at the time.

Speaking on the Under the Cosh podcast, Deeney said: “[Watford] couldn’t sell me that summer [they got relegated]. I was meant to go Spurs with Mourinho.

“And then they ended up getting [Carlos Vinicius]; they ended up getting him at Spurs on loan. I think he only scored like one goal that season. I’m not bitter about it at all. Yeah, he worked great. And those things at Spurs, he’s at Fulham now.

When asked about the financial details of the proposed move, Deeney revealed it would have cost Spurs “nothing,” as Watford were just eager to get him “off the books”.

“Obviously to Spurs, that was okay,” Deeney added. “And I think with Spurs, they were going to loan me for a year at like, let’s say 70 grand, like a big chunk of it. If I hit certain targets or they got the top four, they had to take me. Or if Watford got promoted straight away, I’d just come straight back [to Watford].”

Troy Deeney would have been better than Carlos Vinicius

I hate to say it, but Troy Deeney might have ended up being alright at Spurs. He’s not the most endearing character, but he knew where the back of the net was, and Tottenham could have done with that kind of quality at the time. He would certainly have offered more than Carlos Vinicius did.

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