Kane next? – Five PL players who famously tried to force a transfer | OneFootball

Harry Kane has began his attempt to force through a transfer away this summer, with the forward having failed to report for Tottenham training as scheduled this week.

Kane has expressed a desire to leave the north London side in search of elusive silverware and was subject of a £100m bid from Manchester City earlier in the transfer window.

Spurs have expressed their disappointment at the actions of the England captain, though Kane is not the first notable Premier League name to forcibly attempt to engineer a transfer.

Here are five Premier League players who famously tried to force transfers.

Peter Odemwingie

One of the great transfer deadline day stories the Premier League has seen, Peter Odemwingie’s bizarre attempt to force a move from West Brom to Queens Park Rangers has become the stuff of transfer folklore.

Odemwingie had submitted a transfer request at The Hawthorns amid interest from the west London side, only to see his request rejected as two bids from QPR for the forward were turned down.

The Nigeria international had thought a swap-deal had been struck with Junior Hoilett heading in the opposite direction, but the deal collapsed following Hoilett’s refusal to sign for West Brom.

That message failed to be relayed clearly to Odemwingie however, who – heart set on a switch to QPR – famously drove down to London, only to be embarrassingly left in his car after being denied access to Loftus Road.

QPR said that the 31-year-old had turned up ‘unannounced’ despite no deal being agreed and as the transfer deadline passed Odemwingie was left red-faced after a memorable ‘U-turn’ and trip back to the Midlands.

Deadline Day Folklore: When Peter Odemwingie rocked up to Loftus Road only to get locked out

William Gallas

William Gallas proved no stranger to controversies throughout his career and the defender’s war of words with former club Chelsea certainly left a sour taste.

Gallas has been a key performer over five seasons with the west London club and won back-to-back league titles following the Blues’ billionaire takeover, but after becoming unsettled decided nothing was going to stop him from leaving Stamford Bridge.

The defender memorably refused to play in an FA Cup semi-final and claimed that not even a ‘galactic salary’ could persuade him to sign a new deal, with Chelsea claiming that Gallas had threatened to ‘score own goals’ should his transfer request be denied.

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Rather than play 12 against 10, the Blue begrudgingly allowed the centre-back to leave as Gallas signed for London rivals Arsenal in an exchange deal that saw Ashley Cole move to Chelsea.

Gallas denied his alleged own-goal threat following his acrimonious exit, accusing the Chelsea hierarchy of ‘lacking class’ and hiding behind ‘ridiculous accusations’.

Dimitar Berbatov

Manchester City are set to be the latest side to witness the hardball tactics of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, with neighbours Manchester United having found themselves frustrated by Levy’s notoriously tough negotiating.

United had hoped to continue their dominance of the Premier League with the signing of Dimitar Berbatov during the 2008 summer transfer window, though the straightforward deal the Red Devils had hoped for failed to materialise.

After a summer-long saga it was left to the player to help engineer his own exit, with Berbatov beginning the new season on the bench against Middlesbrough as the uncertainty surrounding his future dominated the headlines.

The Bulgarian then refused to travel for a fixture at Sunderland and was absent once again for a clash against Chelsea as Spurs failed to win in their opening three, citing he was not in the correct mental state to feature.

Spurs – having already lost Robbie Keane to Liverpool – eventually relented with just minutes of the transfer window remaining, sanctioning Berbatov’s £30.75m departure to Old Trafford.

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Laurent Koscielny

After nine seasons of fine service and the inheriting of the captain’s armband, it’s fair to say few saw Laurent Koscielny’s time with Arsenal ending in such bitter fashion.

Koscielny had informed the Gunners of his desire to return to France after almost a decade at the Emirates, though the veteran was left angered after feeling the north London side were pricing him out of a move away.

The 33-year-old subsequently refused to join up with the Arsenal squad for a pre-season tour of the United States, a far from model example being set by the man in possession of the armband.

Koscielny was forced to train with the u23 side as he sought a transfer to France, with Arsenal eventually lowering their initial £10m demands as a sale to Bordeaux was agreed for less than half that figure.

The defender was then slammed by club legends including Ian Wright following his unveiling at Bordeaux, removing an Arsenal shirt to unveil the colours of his new club following the controversial manner of his exit.

Dimitri Payet

West Ham fans took Dimitri Payet to their hearts following the mercurial midfielder’s arrival from Marseille, with the summer signing proving box-office viewing during a sensational debut season at Upton Park.

Payet was named on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award in 2015/16, before continuing that rich vein of form into the European Championship as France reached the final of Euro 2016 on home soil.

The Hammers’ hero was rewarded with a new lucrative contract by the east London outfit, but even a significant increase in his pay-packet was not enough to keep the club’s chief creator content.

Citing homesickness and amid interest from former club Marseille, Payet decided to strike mid-way through his second season with the unsettled midfielder insisting he would “never kick a ball again for West Ham” following a rejected bid from France.

The West Ham board and manager Slaven Bilic initially took a defiant stance against the striking star, though ultimately bowed to player-power in a bid to prevent further unrest after Marseille upped their offer to £25m.

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