Fabrizio Romano: Tottenham tried to hijack Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus move last year

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Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Tottenham Hotspur tried to hijack Arsenal’s move for Gabriel Jesus last summer, but they failed.

The news about hijacking deals has been at an all-time high in this window, with a number of clubs pipping their rivals to sign players. Chelsea did it to Arsenal with Mykhaylo Mudryk, while Spurs did the same to Everton this week for Arnaut Danjuma.

Fabio Paratici deserves immense credit for pulling the Danjuma deal off, but Romano has revealed that he was unsuccessful with his attempt last summer, when he tried to beat Arsenal for Jesus’ signature.

Fabrizio Romano: Tottenham tried to hijack Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus move last year

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were all said to be interested in signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City last summer.

The Brazilian had entered the final year of his contract at the Etihad, and following Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez’s arrival, it became clear that he was going to leave Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal won the race for Jesus in the end, sealing the deal for £45 million (Sky Sports), and he was outstanding for Mikel Arteta’s side in the first part of the season. Things, however, could’ve been a little different if Paratici’s plan had worked.

While speaking about the Danjuma deal and how Spurs hijacked Everton’s move for the Dutchman, Romano revealed that he isn’t surprised at all by this because Paratici has tried many such hijacks in the past – including one to sign Jesus.

The journalist said on House of Champions: A CBS Soccer Podcast: “I’m not so surprised in this case (hijacking Everton’s Danjuma move) about Tottenham because I know how the director, Paratici, works.

“This is something that he has already done in the past with many other players.

“They tried to do the same, for example, with Gabriel Jesus last summer, when the player had already decided to join Arsenal. So, it was impossible to proceed, but it’s not the first time we see this kind of move from Tottenham’s side.”

TBR View:

Gabriel Jesus is one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal are on top of the Premier League table.

Yes, he has been injured for a while now and yes, he went on a 10-game goal drought before the World Cup, but what he has brought to this Arsenal side has completely changed the mentality of the club.

One can only wonder how much of a difference Jesus could’ve made at Tottenham, who are currently 14 points behind Arsenal despite playing two games more than Arteta’s side.

Arsenal fans sure are glad that it was them who signed Jesus and not Tottenham. They’re hoping he’ll be back soon as the Gunners are starting to dream of winning the Premier League now.