Tottenham Hotspur passed on the opportunity to bolster their attack with a high-profile loan move for Colombian striker Jhon Duran on transfer deadline day.
Despite a frantic final few hours of the winter window, the North London club ultimately decided to stick with their current squad.
Tottenham turned down chance to sign Jhon Duran
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on the Here We Go podcast that Duran was offered to Spurs as a ‘last-minute chance’ while he was looking to cut short his loan spell at Fenerbahce.
The 22-year-old, who made headlines last year with a massive £64 million move to Saudi side Al-Nassr, has amassed an impressive career tally of 54 goals and 15 assists across his spells in MLS, the Premier League, and abroad.
The opportunity arose due to industry speculation that Tottenham might terminate the loan of Randal Kolo Muani early.
The French international has been heavily linked with a return to PSG or a move to Juventus after a stop-start beginning to life in London.
“Tottenham were offered the possibility to sign Jhon Duran on loan from Fenerbahce, who is on loan from Al-Nassr.
“He was offered to Tottenham as a last-minute chance for Spurs. The club decided against it.
“It was a possibility that was offered because some people in the industry thought that Tottenham were going to break the loan for Randal Kolo Muani to go to Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain.
“So that was a possibility, but Tottenham decided to continue with Kolo Muani. He started the last two games, so they decided to trust the player and turn down the opportunity to sign Duran, who was keen on this possibility.”
Manager Thomas Frank reportedly played a key role in the decision, opting for continuity over another mid-season transition, despite the team languishing in 14th place.
Duran joins Zenit in shock move
With the door to the Premier League closed, Duran’s entourage acted quickly.
Within hours of the English deadline passing, it was confirmed that the ‘lethal‘ striker had terminated his contract in Turkey to join Zenit Saint Petersburg on loan for the remainder of the season.
Club Apps Goals Assists Aston Villa 78 20 1 Envigado FC 47 9 4 Chicago Fire FC 28 8 6 Fenerbahce 21 5 3 Al-Nassr FC 18 12 0 Chicago Fire FC II 2 0 0 Total 194 54 14
Jhon Duran club career stats via Transfermarkt
The move to Russia marks Durán’s third club in just 12 months, continuing a nomadic period for the former Aston Villa man.
While Spurs fans wonder if they missed out on a clinical goalscorer, the club’s hierarchy is betting that Kolo Muani will finally find his shooting boots as they look to salvage their season.