The Athletic have revealed that Jose Mourinho was confident of snapping up Donny van de Beek in the summer of 2020 before the midfielder joined Manchester United.
Spurs saw Van de Beek’s quality first-hand during their Champions League semi-final clash with Ajax in 2019.
It was reported during the summer of 2020 that the North London club made a late attempt to hijack the Dutch international’s move to Old Trafford but they ultimately proved unsuccessful in doing so.
The 24-year-old even admitted last season that his international teammate, Steven Bergwijn had texted him asking him if he would come to Spurs but he instead had his heart set on a move to the Red Devils (Destentor).
However, Van de Beek’s time at United has not gone according to plan, with the Dutchman making just four Premier League starts to date.
The Athletic have now revealed that the midfielder was pursued by Real Madrid when he was at Ajax.
They add that Mourinho was ‘confident’ of bringing Van de Beek to Spurs in the summer of 2020 and was also excited about his potential arrival.
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However, it is alleged that Spurs were not able move out fellow midfielder Tanguy Ndombele to fund the transfer.
Spurs Web Opinion
It would be unfair to judge Van de Beek too harshly on his time at United considering the lack of opportunities he has had. However, I still consider the Dutchman to be a bullet-dodged for Spurs as I was never convinced that he was going to be a hit in the Premier League.
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