Max Kruse has revealed how he blew his chance to join Tottenham Hotspur back in 2015 after a meeting with ex-Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.
For several years, when Harry Kane was leading the line in north London for Tottenham Hotspur, finding an understudy for the talented Englishman was not the easiest of assignments.
Fernando Llorente was one who acted as Kane’s understudy for a few seasons, with his infamous role in Spurs’ win against Manchester City in the 2019 UEFA Champions League, a memory fans of Tottenham hold dear.
Tottenham were also linked with other forwards during Kane’s time at N17, one such being Max Kruse, although a move never materialised, with the forward opting for a move elsewhere.
Max Kruse reveals why Tottenham move collapsed in 2015
Now, the German forward has, in a podcast with his friend relayed by Bild, revealed that he had a potential move to join Mauricio Pochettino’s side in 2015, but it came crashing down.
The 37-year-old forward also disclosed that he was not too fond of the intense training regime the Argentine manager demanded of his squad.
“I was actually invited to the meeting,” he said. “I thought I was a little Messi back then and that’s how I sat in the office.
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“My English was so-so back then. I also had my agent with me. And they were sitting there with five people and told me what options they had, with video, the training ground, a gym.
“I told my agent: Can you tell them I am not really the training type? Then they were not really interested in me anymore. That was a bit stupid.
“They made me an offer, but I felt like a youth player. It was like back in the day at Werder. Tottenham could have done more.
“Unfortunately, it was over. In hindsight, they could have responded a bit more cleverly to make it work.
“Whenever I spoke with the club or someone in charge, I always asked: When do you train? For example, I also talked to Florian Kohfeldt (at Werder Bremen) about it and told him it is better to train in the afternoon. I tried to get the coach to train later because mornings are not really my time.”
Spurs moved on while Max Kruse forged solid career elsewhere
The German forward did still go on to have an impressive career, scoring 162 goals and assisting 134 in his 558 appearances.
While he did not sign for Tottenham, he was not a great miss for the Lilywhites, who were fortunate to have a young Harry Kane in their squad, who later went on to become one of the greatest forwards in the club’s history.