Tottenham thought they were about to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, before Arsenal changed everything.
As negotiations between Daniel Levy and Steve Parish stalled, Arsenal sensed an opportunity to swoop in following an injury to Kai Havertz, swiftly agreeing a £68m deal with Crystal Palace.
Eze will undergo a medical at Arsenal on Friday – once he has played his final game for the Eagles against Fredrikstad on Thursday evening in the UEFA Conference League.
Parish is understood to have insisted on the England international featuring in the European tie.
Tottenham have now turned their attention towards Bilal El Khannouss as an alternative – a player Crystal Palace hope to sign – which has sparked a reaction from Spurs fans.
Tottenham fans want to exact revenge on Crystal Palace by taking Bilal El Khannouss
TBR Football understand Spurs have enquired about El Khannouss after losing out on Eberechi Eze, and Tottenham fans are “all for it” if it spites Crystal Palace.
One Tottenham fan wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “My calm and peaceful 53-year-old self thinks this is a stupid idea but my more spiteful and vengeful 20-year-old self thinks this is great, and he’s winning at the moment.”
Another added: “Sign him out of spite and never play him.”
Sources stress that talks between El Khannouss and Crystal Palace went well – and the Morocco international wants to play under Oliver Glasner – but the deal is not done yet.
A third Tottenham supporter posted: “Just do it even if we only loan him straight back (to Leicester).”
Another simply wrote “well well well” – understanding the irony of the situation for Crystal Palace.
Others added that it is “a level of pettiness we can and should all get behind” as another quipped they are “all for it” after what happened regarding Eze.
Ultimately, this is not the fault of Crystal Palace.
Tottenham knew James Maddison was seriously injured just a week into August, whereas Arsenal reacted almost immediately after Havertz suffered a knee issue on Wednesday, so there was plenty of time for Levy to finalise this deal.
Bilal El Khannouss was responsible for arguably the lowest point of Ange Postecoglou’s reign at Tottenham
El Khannouss – who has been called “one of the finest technicians of his generation” – scored one of his two Premier League goals last season against Tottenham in north London.
It sealed a 2-1 win for Leicester at a time where the Foxes were on a run of just one win in nine games under Ruud van Nistelrooy, even losing seven Premier League matches in a row before travelling to face Spurs.
It also signalled a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, and had Ange Postecoglou been sacked after this particular game, few people would have been surprised.