Former Tottenham striker, Peter Crouch, has revealed that he almost joined Sunderland before a last-minute intervention from Harry Redknapp brought him to Spurs in 2009.
Crouch spent only two seasons at White Hart Lane but he gave Spurs fans more than enough memories to be remembered fondly for many years to come.
The striker played a key role in helping the club qualify for the Champions League in his first season, even scoring the winning goal against Manchester City to seal a top-four finish.
Crouch was also one of Tottenham’s most important players in the run to the quarter-finals of the Champions League during the subsequent season, which included a memorable winner at the San Siro against AC Milan.
However, none of those moments would have happened at all had Redknapp delayed his approach for the England man, with Crouch revealing that he had already agreed to move to Sunderland in 2009.
The former England striker wrote in his Daily Mail column: “History shows I went from Portsmouth to Tottenham in the summer of 2009 but it could quite easily have been Portsmouth to Sunderland. Steve Bruce was keen to sign me and it got to the point where I flew up to the North East from the South Coast.
“Steve took me around Sunderland’s fantastic training ground, we had lunch together and I was even taken to the areas where the other players lived to look at possible houses. I was prepared to move there over Fulham, who had also shown significant interest.
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“On the way back home, though, I got a call from Harry Redknapp, who asked me about my plans. When I told him about Sunderland, he made his pitch for Tottenham and having not even been in the picture, I was suddenly headed for White Hart Lane. I’m glad it worked out as it did.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I must admit that I wasn’t a massive fan of Crouch when we signed him in 2009 and didn’t think he would suit us. However, he certainly won me over and quickly became one of my favourite Spurs players. I felt it was quite harsh on Crouch to sell him in 2011. I thought he had done enough to stay for one more season and fight for his place with Adebayor.
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