Tottenham new boy, Clinton N’jie, has revealed that he refused to transfer to Arsenal when we came a-knocking.
The forward put in an adequate display for Lyon last season, scoring eight goals in 33 appearances, catching the eyes of our north London rivals.
However, apparently they weren’t the only ones, claims the 22-year-old.
“I’ve never been afraid that my transfer to Tottenham would not materialise,” he said.
“I never had the leaders of Arsenal on the phone, they only contacted my agent. My choice was made, I was determined to join Tottenham.
“Here I will evolve under the orders of Mauricio Pochettino, a coach who plays youngsters and progresses.”
I’m considerably dubious about this since, as Wenger has repeatedly said, we wouldn’t be adding unless it’s someone who’s truly, truly going to help the team and, with all due respect, I don’t think N’jie would.
Perhaps we were interested a while ago but I doubt we would have wanted him recently, considering Spurs paid £10.5m, a sum we’re unlikely to pay for a relatively unproven youngster from Ligue 1.
What I do see, is a PR team trying to endear a new player, in a new league, in a new country, to the new fans. There’s nothing shady or sinister about it but it’s not always 100% honest.
Lukas Podolski is the king of PR (or at least his team is). Become a fan favourite from the get-go by making a jibe at a rival team and they’ll support you for life.