Tottenham ‘miss out on a deadline day move for Udinese winger Gerard Deulofeu’

Tottenham reportedly missed out on a transfer deadline day move for former Everton and Watford winger Gerard Deulofeu.

The 28-year-old was heavily linked with Aston Villa during the January transfer window before Spurs looked at a move as they were keen to bring in reinforcements.

Spurs managed to sign Pedro Porro from Sporting Lisbon for £42million while also mutually terminating Matt Doherty’s contract in order to allow the right-back to join Atletico Madrid on a free transfer. 

Boss Antonio Conte, however, was keen to add Spanish star Deulofeu to bolster his attacking options ahead of the window slamming shut.

A deal was said to be extremely close to being done before Deulofeu suffered a knee injury last month, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. 

Spurs boss Antonio Conte (pictured) was keen to add Deulofeu to bolster his attacking options

Romano said on his YouTube channel: ‘We know that Tottenham were looking for an offensive player. 

‘Nicolo Zaniolo then they decided to go for Danjuma on loan as a big opportunity. But I can reveal you – and this is an exclusive name – that Tottenham were considering a move for Gerard Deulofeu.

‘Udinese player, he’s doing incredible in Serie A and had a fantastic first part of the season. He’s already Premier League proven. 

‘He played for Everton, for Watford. Also for Barcelona and AC Milan in the past. So an important player with good experience ready to make an impact. Very appreciated also by the board, but what happened?

‘Deulofeu was really close to Tottenham. From what I heard, the deal was almost done for Deulofeu to join Tottenham. 

‘But what happened is that Gerard Deulofeu have an injury, a serious injury, so it was not available anymore on the market right before joining Tottenham.’

The injury ruined any chance of Deulofeu leaving Udinese, at least until the summer, when he expected to attract more interest. 

The former Watford winger remains in contract at Udinese until the summer of 2024

The winger’s contract expires in the summer of 2024 – therefore Tottenham and even Aston Villa could re-ignite their interest. 

The 28-year-old has recorded seven assists and three goals so far this term, with Udinese pushing for the European places in Serie A.

Deulofeu – formerly of Everton and Watford – scored 13 goals last season and was said to be open to a switch away.

Udinese had valued Deulofeu at around £17million when the likes of AC Milan and Napoli registered interest at the end of last season.