JACK GREALISH came close to signing for Tottenham, claims the North Londoners’ former technical director Steve Hitchen.
Grealish, 29, left Aston Villa for Manchester City for £100million in 2021.
Three years earlier, however, Spurs failed in a £25m bid.
In September 2018, Grealish even admitted: “I thought I was leaving. Before the new owners, Villa needed the money so I kind of accepted that me going would save the club.”
Hitchen played a major role in Tottenham’s recruitment at the time, before going to leave in 2022 following Fabio Paratici’s arrival.
Recently appearing on the Decision Makers podcast, the 48-year-old relived Spurs’ failed bid for Grealish.
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He said: “We were very close to getting Jack Grealish, which would have been probably one of the best signings.
“Jack Grealish was a ‘Tottenham player’. He would have set the place alight.
“He had the skills, he would have got the fans off their seat. He would have been a difference in that time.
“We had Dele at that time and I think those two would have pushed each other as well.
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“To miss out on that player was massive in that period.”
Astonishingly, Tottenham did not sign a single player in that 2018 summer transfer window.
They then failed to recruit anyone in January 2019, despite Mousa Dembele leaving for Guangzhou R&F.
Hitchen went on to reveal that Spurs nearly pulled off a huge deal for a Dembele replacement.
He added: “We were really close to getting Frenkie de Jong.
“I think Frenkie de Jong, again, is a ‘Tottenham player’. I think he would have made a big difference for us.
“We had to replace the irreplaceable in Dembele. Probably Frenkie could’ve gone into that position and really succeeded at Spurs.”
Since leaving Tottenham, Hitchen has become director of football at talent agency Unique Sports Group (USG).
USG represent several high-profile stars, including the likes of Reece James, Anthony Gordon, Marc Guehi and Brennan Johnson.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
