Rivaldo, Jack Grealish – 19 players Daniel Levy failed to sign after Tottenham interest amid Eberechi Eze collapse
Tottenham embarrassingly failed in their pursuit to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, and Daniel Levy is once again being criticised by fans.
Levy is far from popular at Tottenham, but this summer has seen him incur the wrath of fans after several failed transfer pursuits.
Losing out on Eze to Arsenal was the latest in a row of failed transfer sagas, with Tottenham also failing to sign Morgan Gibbs-White after activating his release clause.
Failed signings and disappointment are Levy’s speciality, and this is not a new feeling for Tottenham fans, who have endured years of feeble signing attempts and drawn-out transfer sagas, and we have now listed 18 other deals which appeared close but collapsed under the Chairman’s direction.
Tottenham’s failed transfer pursuits
The failed deal for Eze followed the saga for Gibbs-White, but there are countless more deals which looked promising before they hijacked, or collapsed because of financial demands, or Levy failed to show enough ambition to get the deal done.
As early as 2002, Levy flew to Spain to talk to Brazilian legend Rivaldo over joining on a free transfer, but he then rejected Tottenham to join AC Milan.
Levy was then rejected by Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes, who then labelled Tottenham as a much smaller club than Los Blancos, in an embarrassing pursuit. With a deal close to agreement, Levy reportedly asked to pay the fee in instalments, and Real Madrid ended negotiations.
Tottenham also scouted Samuel Eto’o while he was a 21-year-old at Mallorca, but Levy refused to take a punt on the striker, who would go on to become a legend of the game.
In 2011, Tottenham activated the release clause of Sergio Aguero when he was at Atletico Madrid, but Levy refused to pay the additional add-ons requested, and he instead went to Manchester City.
January 2013 saw Spurs attempt to sign Internacional striker Leandro Damiao, but Levy’s bid of £13 million was well below his release clause of £42m, and a move never materialised.
Spurs pursued Porto star Joao Moutinho in 2012, but the transfer fell through on deadline day as they submitted the paperwork one minute too late.
Tottenham tried to sign Brazil winger Willian in 2013 and he even completed a medical, but Chelsea swooped in to steal him in the last second.
- Tottenham wanted Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala to replace Real Madrid-bound Gareth Bale.
- A £30m deal had been agreed and the Brazilian completed a medical, but Roman Abramovich hijacked the deal and left Levy furious, and Erik Lamela was signed instead.
Levy could have signed legendary Barcelona forward David Villa in 2013, but he refused to pay £12m for an ageing player. He went on to win La Liga with Atletico Madrid the following year.
Tottenham were keen on Brazilian winger Hulk in 2013, but the Porto star could not gain a visa, and the deal collapsed.
Harry Redknapp admitted in 2014 that he tried to sign Luis Suarez during his Ajax days, but Levy instead imposed free transfers on him, and the Uruguayan would go on to become one of the best strikers in the world at Liverpool and Barcelona.
One of Levy’s most embarrassing failed deals was that of Jack Grealish in 2018. Spurs were keen on the winger, but offered a derisory bid of £3m and Josh Onomah in exchange. Grealish later moved for £100m after becoming a superstar at Aston Villa.
- Grealish was a rising star in the Championship when this derisory offer from Levy arrived.
- He stayed at Villa for three more years, and eventually went on to win the treble at City.
Redknapp also wanted Eden Hazard when he was at Lille, but Levy refused to pay the £16m asking price for the winger, and he would go on to thrive at Chelsea.
Bruno Fernandes was targeted in 2019 while still at Sporting CP, but Tottenham refused to meet his asking price despite Mauricio Pochettino’s desire to sign the player, and he moved to Man United six months later.
Paulo Dybala was also targeted in the summer of 2019 as a high-profile signing, but despite a bid, the Argentina forward remained at Juventus, and Spurs signed Giovani Lo Celso instead.
Milan Skriniar was targeted in 2020, but Levy refused to pay his £55m asking price, and instead signed Joe Rodon.
The summer of 2021 saw Tottenham pursue Jules Kounde as they sought out a new right-back, but they went for the cheaper option in Emerson Royal.
Spurs were interested in Luis Diaz while he was thriving at Porto, but Liverpool swooped in during the January 2022 transfer window to steal him from under Levy’s nose.
Tottenham fans lose patience with Daniel Levy
The Eze and Gibbs-White failures were clearly just the latest failures under Levy, and there could have been so much more success under the Chairman.
Most of the players Levy pursued, but failed to sign, went on to win silverware elsewhere, while ageing players such as Villa were simply not targeted because of their resale value, despite the immediate quality they could have added to the squad.
Spurs fans are fed up with the constant frustration under Levy, and further protests against the Chairman are seemingly planned in the coming weeks.
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