Five of the most memorable transfer hijackings | OneFootball

It’s essential not to count your chickens before they hatch when it comes to football transfers. A deal is not done until everything is signed and sealed, with several sagas leading to late hijacks.

Tottenham Hotspur look set to be on the receiving end of a dramatic hijacking, with North London rivals Arsenal having swooped in to sign top target Eberechi Eze. Late interest from Arsenal has turned Eze’s head, leaving Spurs with a sour taste.

As Eze nears his move to the Gunners, we’ve remembered five of English football’s most memorable transfer hijackings.

Gascoigne, Keane, Willian: Five memorable transfer hijackings

Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne was brave – or stupid – enough to renege on an agreement with Sir Alex Ferguson to join Manchester United in 1988.

Manchester United believed they had won the race to sign England’s most exciting talent, with Gascoigne confirming his intention to move to Old Trafford post-Ferguson’s summer holiday.

“We spoke to him the night before I went on holiday,” Ferguson recalled.

“He said, ‘Go and enjoy yourself, Mr Ferguson, I’ll be signing for Manchester United.’

“So I went on my holidays, but Martin Edwards [then chairman] rang and said I’ve got some bad news – he signed for Tottenham.”

The North Londoners had swooped in with a superior offer, persuading the then-Newcastle midfielder to move to the capital. With incentives such as a house for Gazza’s parents and, oddly, a sunbed for his sister, he snubbed Manchester to sign for Tottenham.

What might have been…

Roy Keane

Manchester United were on the right side of a transfer hijack in 1993, after stealing in to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Roy Keane from under the noses of Blackburn Rovers.

Keane had agreed personal terms with Blackburn, with the Irishman shaking hands with manager Kenny Dalglish on a deal. However, the paperwork was not finalised before the closure of the Blackburn office for the weekend, allowing Manchester United time to turn Keane’s head.

A conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson saw Keane back out of the Blackburn deal to join Manchester United.

Remembering the saga on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Keane said: “What I should have done [after agreeing to join Manchester United] was ring Blackburn straight away, but I dragged that out. A week later I was going on holiday to Ayia Napa with a few lads from Forest and Kenny [Dalglish] rang me.

“I told Kenny that I should have got in touch with him sooner, I was a bit embarrassed, and he went mad. He said something like, ‘You’re a f***ing joke, nobody does this to Kenny Dalglish,’ but he was right. We shook hands on the deal, and he said that in Scotland, if you shake hands that’s it. If things had been done that night [when I first agreed to join Blackburn], I would have signed for Blackburn. They have to take responsibility too.

“Kenny was going mad, and I remember saying to him that I was going on holiday, he said, ‘I’ll f***ing find you’. I was in Ayia Napa for the week looking over my shoulder, I swear. I’ve seen Kenny since, brilliant guy and huge respect.”

John Obi Mikel

Perhaps the most memorable transfer tug-of-war of all time. John Obi Mikel’s ‘move’ to Manchester United even saw the midfielder presented as a new signing, only for a legal battle to ensue that ended in him joining Chelsea.

The Nigerian had agreed a pre-contract deal with the Red Devils, which would have seen him sign for the club after turning 18. However, Chelsea swooped in to bring Mikel on trial, before sending the youngster to Norwegian side Lyn Oslo. Both teams, at this stage, believed they had an agreement to sign him.

An incredible back-and-forth followed, with FIFA and the FA involved to settle the situation. Chelsea eventually paid Manchester United a compensation fee and the midfielder spent 11 years in West London. The process of getting there, however, was utterly bonkers.

Just listen to this.

Willian

Tottenham Hotspur thought Willian was a sure thing in August 2013, with the winger even completing a medical with the North London side.

However, Chelsea hijacked the transfer while Willian was still at Tottenham’s training ground. A late move from the Blues saw them win the race for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger to leave Spurs stunned.

“I was in London for two weeks, waiting, waiting for Tottenham to decide because they were in a situation where Gareth Bale was in the process of leaving them to join Real Madrid,” the 34-year-old told The Athletic

“Liverpool were also interested. I wasn’t sure about Chelsea. They’d shown interest but it wasn’t so firm at first. Chelsea came on the day I was going to sign the contract with Spurs. I was at Tottenham’s training ground to finalise the deal when the call came. My agent said to me, ‘Chelsea just called me and they want you’. I said, ‘OK, I want to go there!’.

“Then I left the training ground and went back to the hotel. It was a difficult situation because I’d agreed more or less to join Spurs, but in my mind was only Chelsea. Once the deal between Anzhi and Chelsea was agreed, I only wanted to go there. It was the best decision of my career.”

Mykhailo Mudryk

Mykhailo Mudryk’s future dominated the headlines during the 2023 January window.

Arsenal had been clear favourites to sign Mudryk, who has shone during the Champions League campaign with Shakhtar Donetsk. The interest was mutual, too, with the Ukrainian winger going public with his interest in the transfer on social media.

Then came Chelsea. A huge offer from the Blues won the race to sign Mudryk, in a deal that could reach £88.5m with add-ons. As part of a remarkable recruitment drive under Todd Boehly, Chelsea stole Mudryk from their London rivals at the last minute.

After a poor spell at Chelsea that is now clouded in long-term uncertainty, it’s a hijack the Blues probably regret.

Read – Arsenal hijack Tottenham move for £60m midfielder

See more – Five of the most random football transfers made this summer

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