£22.8m No.9 reveals he turned down Tottenham in favour of Bundesliga transfer

Krzysztof Piatek TEAMtalk

Hertha Berlin striker Krzysztof Piątek has revealed Tottenham made a concrete loan offer for him, but he opted to move to Germany instead.

Poland forward Piątek, 25, was earmarked by Spurs as Harry Kane’s replacement. The England striker was ruled out of action for more than two months with a thigh problem.

Kane missed 14 games and returned in June when the delayed season got back under way.

Jose Mourinho did not bring in a direct replacement for his No.9 though, instead he landed Steven Bergwijn late on in the transfer window for £27m.

That does not mean he did not try and bring in a direct replacement though as Piątek has revealed he was supposed to head to London while he was with AC Milan.

Speaking to Prawda Futbolu as cited by Interia Sport (via Sport Witness) he said: “I don’t know if I can talk about it, but Milan must have received an offer from Tottenham to loan me for 1.5 years. That was when Harry Kane was injured and I was supposed to replace him for the first three months. However, Hertha were more specific.

“They immediately spent a lot of money, offered a definitive transfer and a 4.5-year contract. Everything was in order. Their determination was enormous, it convinced me.”

 

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Hertha paid around £22.8m, including add-ons for Piatek in the January 2020 window. And it seems Spurs may well have dodged a bullet.

Piatek has scored just 11 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions,

Skipp decision

Meanwhile, Norwich City have reportedly enquired about taking Oliver Skipp on loan from Tottenham for a second successive season.

The midfielder has been a key part of the Canaries’ side in their 2020/21 campaign as they have looked to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Championship leaders look set to achieve their goal having opened up a 10-point gap to second-placed Watford with 11 games of the season to go.

According to Football Insider, they have made contact with Spurs in the aim of taking Skipp on loan once more as they prepare for life back in the top flight.

The 20-year-old has impressed both his loan and parent club with his performances this season. He has been ever-present in defensive midfield, featuring in all 35 league games to date.

He is regarded in north London as a future first team star. Jose Mourinho described him as “phenomenal” last season.

However, Mourinho will have to decide whether he wants to integrate Skipp into his team sooner rather than later, or let him spend another campaign developing away from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

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