Tottenham reportedly made a late push to sign long-term target Santiago Gimenez in January but failed in their attempt.
Spurs were actively seeking reinforcements to add more firepower to their attack after injuries to the likes of Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, and Gimenez was among those the club were eyeing.
However, despite making a strong approach, Tottenham were unable to convince the Mexican forward to make the switch to North London.
According to a report from Calciomercato, the striker rejected Spurs as he had already committed to joining AC Milan from Feyenoord, having given his word to Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
His agent pushed for a move to San Siro as per the report with the player also remaining steadfast on his decision, forcing the club to look elsewhere for reinforcements.
Missing out on him would have been particularly disappointing given the club’s long-standing interest in him. The forward was rumored to be on Spurs’ radar in the last January transfer window as well and was even spotted at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with his agent last April.
The Mexican international has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years. After winning the Liga MX title with Cruz Azul in 2021, he made the switch to Feyenoord in 2022.
He scored 28 goals in his debut season across all competitions. The following season, Gimenez continued to shine, netting 23 league goals and setting a new Eredivisie calendar-year scoring record with 31 goals in 2023. He finished the season with 26 goals and 8 assists across all competitions. In 105 appearances for the Dutch club, he scored 65 and assisted 14, and finished his time at Eredivisie with 55 goals and assists in 75 games. (Transfermarkt)
His performances earned him a move to AC Milan earlier this month, where he has continued his fine goalscoring form with 2 goals and an assist in 4 games so far.
He was not the only attacker they failed to sign. They were also strongly pursuing PSG’s Randal Kolo Muani, with club chairman Daniel Levy personally flying to France to negotiate a deal for him. The club had a loan deal in place as well but the player ultimately decided against joining Spurs and chose to join Juventus instead.
They also initially failed to convince Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel despite having agreed deal with the German club. However, a phone call from Ange Postecoglou managed to turn his head around and the young Frenchman joined Spurs on loan before deadline.
Tel has made an instant impact, giving Ange’s side a real attacking threat upfront. He even scored on his FA Cup debut against Aston Villa in stoppage time with a lovely finish.
