Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt once revealed that he turned down a deadline day move to Spurs – a year before he made a career-defining move to Anfield.

The Dutch forward had been making waves in the Netherlands after fruitful stints with Utrecht and Feyenoord saw him called up to the national team. However, his goalscoring ability also caught the eye of several Premier League clubs – one of which was Spurs.

Kuyt broke the 20-goal mark in each of his three seasons for Feyenoord. Under the guidance of then manager Martin Jol, Spurs attempted to bring the striker to north London on transfer deadline day at the end of the summer in 2005, only for Kuyt to snub the opportunity.

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The Dutchman ultimately elected to move to Anfield a season later, choosing to work with Rafael Benitez on Merseyside instead. Speaking in 2017, the now 44-year-old Kuyt recalled to FourFourTwo how his time in the Premier League could've looked very different had he made the jump to Spurs instead.

“A year before I went to Liverpool, I had the opportunity to go to Spurs, where the manager, Martin Jol, and chairman, Daniel Levy, expressed an interest," He said. "But it was on transfer deadline day, and at that time I didn’t want to move.

"Later on, Liverpool became the number one club who wanted me, although all the negotiations took a while. Other clubs showed an interest too, such as Atletico Madrid. That’s also a nice club, but once I’d heard of Liverpool’s interest, it was the only club I wanted to go to. From a young age I’d always liked Liverpool.”

Kuyt went on to score 71 goals in 286 games for the Reds. He was also part of the squad that reached the Champions League final in 2007, where they lost to AC Milan, and the team that won the League Cup in 2012. After leaving Liverpool in 2012 he enjoyed a successful stint at Fenerbahçe and a celebrated homecoming at Feyenoord.

While Spurs may have missed out on Kuyt, this year's mid-season transfer window has been much more successful with four new faces through the door in January. Ange Postecoglou's side wrapped up an exciting loan deal for France Under-21s forward Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on deadline day.

The 19-year-old, who earlier in the window rejected a move with an obligation to join Spurs permanently come the summer, has now joined until on loan until the end of the season. Spurs can, however, make the move permanent in the summer with an option to buy for €55million (£45.7million), after the player performed a late U-turn on his future.

If the club does take up the option, Tel will sign a six-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tel has made 83 appearances for Bayern since joining from French club Rennes in 2022, scoring 16 goals and providing seven assists.

Postecoglou also brought Austrian defender Kevin Danso in from Ligue 1 club Lens, while goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has already caught the eye since joining earlier in January.

Youngster Yang Min-Hyeok also joined the club during the window, although he has since moved to Championship side Queens Park Rangers on loan.