Former Arsenal defender reveals Tottenham tried to sign him first

One former Arsenal right-back has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur made an approach for him in 2017, three years before he eventually made a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Spurs were looking to replace Kyle Walker in 2017

Kyle Walker had a falling out with Mauricio Pochettino towards the end of the 2016-17 season as Kieran Tripper displaced the pacy defender as Tottenham’s first-choice right-back.

Walker was sold to Manchester City at the end of the season, and while Pochettino has given his own account of why he fell out with the former Spurs man, the 34-year-old has refuted the Argentine’s claims, telling a different version of the story.

We might never actually get to the truth of what went on between the two, but Tottenham decided to replace Walker with Serge Aurier, who had mixed fortunes during his four years at N17.

Former Arsenal man Cedric Soares reveals Spurs approach

Former Arsenal defender Cedric Soares has now revealed that Spurs came calling for him in 2017, but he decided to remain at Southampton at the time.

The Portuguese international would eventually join Arsenal in 2020, but he was a bit-part player at the Emirates, playing just 36 times across four years before his contract ran out last summer.

Soares, who remains a free agent, has now told DAZN in Portugal (as relayed by Noticias ao Minuto): “I had negotiations with PSG after Euro 2016 and I didn’t leave [Southampton].

“Then the following year, in the summer, I had negotiations with Tottenham [laughs] and I didn’t leave. They had Trippier at the time, they had a good right-back, but they wanted to bring one more.”

Right-back was a problem area for Spurs for many years

Right from 2018 until the arrival of Pedro Porro in 2023, right-back was a big problem area for Spurs.

Trippier struggled in his last season at the club, and Spurs made a series of bad recruitment decisions, with Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty, and Emerson Royal all struggling to consistently deliver at the required level.

In all likelihood, Soares would have joined that list of poor signings if Tottenham had been successful with their pursuit of the former Saints man, who was nothing more than a steady player.

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