Tottenham Hotspur fans are feeling the sting as they watch a top summer target light up the Champions League, as the player Spurs came so close to signing last summer, bossing it on the European stage.
Just last summer, Tottenham Hotspur were firmly in the race for then-Rennes winger Desire Doue, considered one of the brightest young talents in Europe.
The teenager had already caught the eye of several top clubs across the continent, with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Spurs all circling in a four-way tussle to land the exciting wide man.
In the end, it was PSG who got their man, snapping him up for £42.6 million (€50 million) and tying him down to a five-year deal.
To make watching Paris Saint-Germain even harder for Spurs fans, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s agent Christian Emile revealed in the past that Tottenham were one of the clubs who expressed an interest in his client before his 2022 switch to Napoli.
Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leave Tottenham fans on the floor
Fast forward just a few months and the talent everyone raved about is now on full display, with Doue tormenting some of Europe’s biggest sides in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Spurs fans, well aware of just how close the club came to signing the Frenchman, have been left gutted watching him tear through English opposition—first Liverpool in the Round of 16, and now Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
Supporters have taken to social media to vent their frustration. One fan posted: “Don’t forget, we was told Odobert was better and had more assist rates than Doue after we signed him.”
Another added: “It’s calm, Odobert has the best dribble success rate in Europe.” A third wrote: “Typical Tottenham.”
One user fumed: “Glad he made the right move—imagine wasting your talent and youth at a club like Tottenham. I think right now we can only attract raw talent, and they’ll see us as a stepping stone.”
On Kvaratskhelia, another chipped in: “As always, being cheap cost you talented players.” One fan reflected: “Looking back, I think Paratici might’ve made a mistake signing Bryan Gil and not Kvaratskhelia.”
A second fan added: “The Spurs way – go for Khvicha and Doué and end up with Gil and Odobert. There is a reason why PSG are where they are and we are where we are.”
Some could at least see the funny side: “Based on my experience of our glorious club if we did sign them that way around Gil would be tearing up the Champions League right now while Kvaratskhelia is having his 3rd hamstring operation.”
Spurs opted for Wilson Odobert over Doue in the summer
We already know how it panned out—Tottenham went for the cheaper alternative, opting to sign Wilson Odobert instead of splashing out the extra £20 million or so on Doue.
Odobert has had his flashes this season, sure, but much of it’s been spent on the sidelines, missing three months through injury. And when you put the numbers side-by-side, it’s not hard to see why fans are wondering what could’ve been.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desire Doue | ||||
| Total (all comps) | 43 | 12 | 12 | 2,398′ |
| Ligue 1 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 1,430′ |
| UEFA Champions League | 12 | 3 | 3 | 492′ |
| Coupe de France | 5 | 4 | 2 | 404′ |
| Trophee des Champions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72′ |
| Wilson Odobert | ||||
| Total (all comps) | 15 | 3 | 0 | 682′ |
| Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 448′ |
| Europa League | 3 | 2 | 0 | 126′ |
| Championship | 1 | 1 | 0 | 90′ |
| EFL Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18′ |