Bruno Fernandes 'cried when Tottenham move collapsed' prior to joining Man Utd from Sporting CP

The Portuguese midfielder had agreed to move to north London and join Spurs in the summer of 2019 and was set to join the club until a deal collapsed between the clubs. The fee had been agreed, but Spurs were unwilling to meet Sporting CP's demands as to the structure of the deal and pulled out of a move - leaving Fernandes in Portugal and, the Daily Mail report, in tears in his chairman's office. Six months later, Fernandes would join United, becoming one of the league's best players and leaving Spurs full of regret.

Spurs could have signed Fernandes and added the Portuguese star to a front line that already included Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. While Spurs missed out on his signing and have failed to win anything, Fernandes signed for United, became captain of the club and has won the Carabao and FA Cup. Spurs fans will curse their luck and the club board for their failings in the transfer market, especially as Fernandes was so desperate to sign for the club.

Speaking earlier in the year to the Players' Tribune, Fernandes said: "The previous summer, there were some rumours about Premier League clubs being interested in me, but the only thing that was concrete was Tottenham. It feels weird to me now, but at the time, I was excited. One of my life goals was to play in the Premier League.

"I tried to block out all the noise, but in the age we are living in, with social media and phones and text, of course, my friends let me know about the rumours. As a kid from Portugal, you can’t help but dream a bit about playing at the big grounds in England.

"In the end, the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement, and the deal fell apart."

Fernandes will be hoping to bounce back from defeat to Spurs in midweek against Bournemouth on Sunday. The London club dumped Ruben Amorim's side out of the Carabao Cup in a topsy-turvy game littered with goalkeeping mistakes ending 4-3 to Spurs and stamped out a chance for the new boss at Old Trafford to earn his first trophy in England. Meanwhile, Spurs host Liverpool with their bitter rivals Arsenal looking for a favour in the title race.