Tottenham have been linked with plenty of strikers in the past. The reality is that very few of the transfer rumours translate into anything concrete though.
One name that may have been quickly forgotten though is that of Paolo Guerrero. The Peruvian striker, now 40, was heavily linked with a move to Spurs in 2013.
But a deal failed to materialise. That was not for the want of trying on the player’s part though, who seemed determined to make the move to north London.
Guerrero had only joined Brazilian club Corinthians in 2012, following spells in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and Hambrug. But by January 2013, he was ready to leave, with Tottenham making an offer to the striker.
Current Arsenal technical director Edu, however, stood in his way. Whether that was to do with his Arsenal connections, or just because he wanted to keep Guerrero in Brazil, only he will know.
Edu was the sporting director at Corinthians at the time. Speaking about his football journey, Guerrero explained what happened in an interview with DyT’s Diego Rebagliati and Talía Azcárate.
“Did I have opportunities to return to Europe? Many, but Corinthians didn’t want to sell me or didn’t want to negotiate. The last offer came from Tottenham, which was a loan-purchase [option].”
“I went with the proposal to talk to Edu Gaspar, who is now Arsenal’s director, and I said ‘I have this, please’. His response was: ‘Do you want the crooked thing to kill me, Paolo? Rest assured that here you will be the highest paid footballer in South America’.”