Former Everton winger Kevin Mirallas enjoyed a successful time at Goodison Park after moving to the Merseyside club from Olympiacos in the summer of 2012.
The Belgian international spent five and half seasons at Everton and for most of that time he was one of their best attacking players.
The 32-year-old, who now plays for Royal Antwerp, has revealed that he came really close to a move to Tottenham in 2015.
The pacey wide man said he was keen on making the move to North London but Everton rejected Tottenham’s offer.
Speaking to the Atheltic, Mirallas said, “I scored a lot of goals in the first part of the season and in January, my agent called to tell me a lot of teams were interested.
“I told him I didn’t want to go in January as it was better to finish the new season, but he kept calling me to say that Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino wanted me (at Tottenham).
“Then, he also told me Diego Simeone (the Atletico Madrid coach) was calling for me. At that moment, there were a lot of games with Everton and I said to him that I’d see what happened at the end of the season.
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“But he called me again one day and said, ‘Tottenham want you, right now.’ I told him to speak to the chairman but the chairman (Bill Kenwright) and (manager) Roberto Martinez were saying no. I had two years left on my contract and Everton didn’t want me to leave but also wouldn’t give me a new contract.
“My agent suggested Everton give me a new contract if I said no, but when I did that, they didn’t give me a new contract. Afterwards, Tottenham kept pushing, so I spoke to Levy and Pochettino. I thought it was a good opportunity because Tottenham were doing well, so I pushed to leave.”
The Belgian international also revealed how he was left fuming as Everton rejected a player plus cash deal involving Aaron Lennon coming the other way as they were unconvinced by the Spurs winger, only for them to secure him on loan late in the transfer window.
Mirallas added, “They (Spurs) offered a lot of money to Everton, plus a player, but they rejected it because they thought the player they offered, Aaron Lennon, was not the same type of player as me.
“Finally, on the last day, they brought in Lennon (on loan). I remember being shocked when I got to the training ground and saw Aaron. I said, ‘Aaron, I didn’t have a problem with you because you are a good guy, but what the f*ck is that?’ I was very shocked.”
Mirallas’ form dropped noticeably after the 2014-15 season and he went on a couple of loans before moving on a free transfer to Royal Antwerp a couple of months ago.
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Perhaps this was a bullet dodged considering how Mirallas’ career has gone since 2015. However, he was clearly a talented player and it is certainly possible that he could have clicked under Pochettino for the Lilywhites. He certainly can’t have done worse than the likes of Njie and Nkoudou.
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