Tottenham Hotspur were looking to bring in a marquee striker in the summer transfer window, and their need for a new centre forward was backed by multiple links with some of the best prospects in the striker’s role in all of Europe. What followed was a closely guarded system of rumours where every other goal-scoring number nine was talking to the Lilywhites.

While Spurs went on to sign Dominic Solanke in a £65 million transfer from Bournemouth, they were subject to close links with Artem Dovbyk, per exclusive by Graeme Bailey on TBR Football.

Tottenham considered Dovbyk before Solanke signing

Dovbyk was subject to ample interest before his eventual move to Italian giants AS Roma. He was a target for the Premiership trio of Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Spurs before he secured a move to the Serie A side, which is described as an ‘instinctive’ decision by his agent.

Showcasing his goal-scoring prowess for Girona in the previous campaign, many thought he would be destined to make a move to one of Europe’s most elites, and rightly so, multiple clubs showed interest in La Liga’s top goal scorer.

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Chelsea at one point stepped interest in landing the striker; however, they soon pivoted to put all their baskets into pursuing a move for Victor Osimhen. While Aston Villa were pondering replacing Jhon Duran with Dovbyk. Both the aforementioned clubs chose otherwise, and for Tottenham, they were in the mix before forking out huge sums to land Solanke.

Agent reveals Dovbyk’s choice

AS Roma stepped up their interest to take advantage of the situation and sign the Ukrainian for a mere £32 million deal. His agent gave an insight into the decision:

“Now, this was a complicated transfer. My brother Gabriele [who led the talks] knows something about it. Several Premier League clubs wanted Dovbyk and, as is known, Atletico Madrid, with whom a real sporting battle was triggered. [But] his will was always to go to Roma because he felt a bond with this club that came to him instinctively.”

For Tottenham, Solanke had a slow start to life in London, but he is catching up, and an England call-up will help him with confidence going into the game against West Ham.

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Would you have rather signed Artem Dovbyk instead of Solanke? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.