‘They wanted me’… Former Chelsea striker admits he really wanted to sign for Tottenham in the past

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Fans of both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will tell you it’s not too often that players have switched between the two clubs in the past.

Timo Werner is the latest player to tread the precarious path, with the likes of William Gallas and Eidur Gudjohnsen being some other famous names to do so.

And if Chelsea’s visit to North London earlier this season is anything to judge by, the rivalry between the two clubs still exists to a very strong degree.

Of course, Mauricio Pochettino has also recently made that move across London, a brave one indeed.

But it’s former England international Carlton Cole who has now been speaking about how he nearly left Chelsea for Tottenham in the past.

Cole was speaking via Hayters TV recently and told how then chairman Roman Abramovich actually cancelled the move once a medical had already been completed.

Carlton Cole says he almost left Chelsea for Tottenham in the past

Telling the story, Cole said that Abramovich actually offered him the chance to head to Russia instead of Tottenham.

Cole shared: “That’s when Spurs come in initially, Martin Jol and Clive Allen. They wanted me to go over there.

“So I had a nice little meeting with them, I was like ‘okay cool, this is where I’m going to go.

“Done my medical, what happened after that was crazy because I got a phone call, I’ve done my medical, I’ve got a phone call saying oh I had something wrong with my knee.

“So Spurs had to go back to Chelsea, whoever they was doing the deal with.

“Word got to Abramovich, who had no clue of this deal that was happening, he says no.

“Carlton I want you to stay, yeah, but I want you to go to my Russian side, go on loan for a year and go and help them out and basically go and develop for another year and come back, I’ll give you a new contract.

“Abramovich said we do not deal with Spurs, that’s why you won’t be going to Spurs.

“So I was like, okay I’m not doing that, I’m definitely not going to Russia.”

Not to be

So whilst Cole seemed very happy to join Tottenham in the past, Abramovich clearly had other ideas.

And with that move in mind, it’ll be intriguing to see if any interest from Spurs arises for stand-in Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher again this summer.

That being said, someone at Tottenham is said to admire a different Premier League player right now.