Even though most of Tottenham’s transfer dealings appeared to be right in front of the public eye, it appears that one possible deal slipped past the media. Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye has revealed that he was approached by Spurs during the summer but wanted to stay with the Magpies instead.

While there were rumours about a possible deal for Cabaye, that’s all they were and there was never any concrete evidence that Andre Villas-Boas had made an official approach. However, it now looks as though this did occur, with Cabaye announcing that he didn’t see the need to enter discussions with Spurs as he is happy with his current club.

The player said, “The offer from Tottenham was to replace Modric. If I had wanted to leave I would have; I have not left, I was not meant to leave as I am still here and I hope a lot of good things will come out of it. For me the Premier League is the best league in the world, you have to work twice as hard and we know about the high tempo in every match. This is what attracted me and I will develop physically.”

As it turns out, Spurs were unable to bring in a permanent replacement for Modric, with AVB losing his battle against time to spend the £33m generated through the sale of the Croatian international. Admittedly, he did manage to bring in the likes of Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey for significant sums on transfer deadline day, yet it was widely understood that he wanted a “big name” to fill the huge void left by Modric.

It now appears that Cabaye will certainly be off the radar for the considerable future, although Spurs fans might be hoping that the club renews their interest in Porto’s Joao Moutinho during the next window.