Tottenham Hotspur almost secured a transfer deal for Udinese winger Gerard Deulofeu during the recent January transfer window according to Fabrizio Romano.
Last month saw the Lilywhites bring in the likes of Pedro Porro and Arnaut Danjuma whilst seeing Matt Doherty, Bryan Gil and Djed Spence leave the north London club.
With the winter window now closed, some behind-the-scenes details have emerged regarding another deal that Spurs were very much involved in.
In a recent Twitter post, Romano said this on the matter.
He said: “Gerard Deulofeu was close to joining Tottenham in January… then his injury changed the story. Deal was very, very advanced. #THFC.”
After scoring 17 goals and delivering 11 assists in 70 appearances for Watford, the 28-year-old joined his current side, Udinese, on an initial loan deal back in October 2020 before becoming a permanent fixture at the Italian club in the 2021 January window.
During his time with Udinese, the attacker has found the net 18 times and supplied 14 assists in 68 appearances across all competitions, taking his career total to 79 club goals.
This season has seen the former Watford star score two goals and provide six assists in 16 Serie A appearances, ultimately earning himself an overall performance rating of 7.05/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player at Udinese.
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To further highlight his attacking prowess, the Spaniard has the highest average of shots (2.8), key passes (3) and dribbles per game (1.2) at the Serie A club.
Towards the end of last month, the player picked up a knee injury that will now see him spend the rest of the season out on the sidelines, which is what stopped him from making a return to England with Spurs according to Romano.
Having been described as “unplayable” in the past by journalist Josh Bunting, it’s easy to see why Antonio Conte’s side were keen to bring Deulofeu to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month and why it’s unfortunate for both parties that his injury stopped him from joining Spurs.