ARSENAL left Tottenham in the dust as they hijacked their fierce rival’s move for Eberechi Eze.
Spurs thought they had finally secured a deal for the Crystal Palace playmaker after weeks of talks.
But Arsenal swooped in on Wednesday following an injury to Kai Havertz, with Eze now set for the Emirates in a £68million deal.
Spurs have been left seething as they eye alternatives, including £69m Man City winger Savinho.
However, it’s not the first time in Premier League history that a side has seen a deal hijacked at the last minute.
Here, SunSport looks at nine of the most brutal transfer steals in the top flight…
AARON RAMSEY
Cardiff to Arsenal, 2008
Hijacked club: Man United
Aaron Ramsey became a cult icon at Arsenal during his 11 years at the club, playing 369 times after a 2008 move from Cardiff for less than £5million.
However, he almost ended up playing for rivals Manchester United.
Aged just 17, Ramsey became one of the hottest properties on the market during his exploits in Wales.
It saw United launch a move and even publicly announce that they had reached an agreement with Cardiff.
But Arsene Wenger was not to be deterred and personally met Ramsey to convince him his future was at the Emirates.
The Frenchman’s mission was a success, and Ramsey snubbed United for Arsenal before going on to win three FA Cups in London.
MOISES CAICEDO
Brighton to Chelsea, 2023
Hijacked club: Liverpool
Having got over a poor debut season at Stamford Bridge, Caicedo was arguably Chelsea’s best player last term.
But he came very close to joining Liverpool before his switch to the Blues.
Chelsea had led the initial interest in Caicedo before Liverpool hijacked the deal, offering £110m to Brighton for their star midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp even confirmed that Caicedo would be joining his Anfield side.
But just two days later, Chelsea made their move by launching a £115m bid.
They successful re-hijacked Liverpool’s Caicedo deal, with the boyhood Blues fan only too eager to turn his back on Merseyside.
To make matters worse, Chelsea then simultaneously completed a £53m deal for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia — who had been Liverpool’s next top choice in the position.
WILLIAN
Anzi Makhachkala to Chelsea, 2013
Hijacked club: Tottenham
Another west London icon, Willian barely missed a game during his time at Chelsea with 339 appearances in seven seasons.
The Brazilian led the Blues to two Premier League titles, which would never have happened had he completed an expected move to Tottenham instead.
Daniel Levy’s side looked to have wrapped up a deal for Willian from Russian outfit Anzhi.
The move was so far down the line that Willian even completed a medical with Spurs.
But a phone call from Chelsea to his agent shook things up, as Willian headed over to Fulham to snub Tottenham and join their rivals instead.
The deal is even immortalised in a popular song at Stamford Bridge, declaring Willian “saw the light” after “getting the call from (former owner Roman) Abramovich” — despite Spurs “buying his flight!”
ROBINHO
Real Madrid to Man City, 2008
Hijacked club: Chelsea
Former Brazilian whizkid Robinho looked destined for the top at Real.
But after being left unhappy by their failed 2008 move for Cristiano Ronaldo, he sought a late summer exit to Chelsea.
The Blues were confident of getting a deal done, with the club even selling shirts with Robinho’s name on the back.
However, Chelsea’s actions — despite being yet to agree a fee — left Real chiefs fuming.
They instead accepted a shock £32.5million deadline bid from Man City, who on the same day had been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
Robinho was forced to take the Manchester move, knowing he had no future at Real Madrid while also seeing his route to Chelsea blocked off.
But thoughts of Stamford Bridge lingered in his mind, with Robinho saying upon arriving at City: “On the last day, Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted.”
After being corrected by a journalist, he added: “Yes, Manchester, sorry!”
ROY KEANE
Nottingham Forest to Man United, 1993
Hijacked club: Blackburn Rovers
Keano remains one of the greatest-ever players in Man United history.
He played 480 times in 12-and-a-half seasons while seven titles and the 1999 Champions League — the same year as United’s famous Treble.
However, the Irishman almost ended up playing for Blackburn Rovers instead.
Then-manager Kenny Dalglish became a huge fan during Keane’s time at Forest.
The pair talked over transfer details and Rovers agreed a record £4m deal to sign him.
However, a cock-up over paperwork saw Keane’s Ewood Park Friday transfer delayed until after the weekend.
Blackburn expected Keane, who had struck a verbal agreement, to pen his contract on the Monday.
But after discovering the news, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rang Keane to offer him a United transfer.
The midfielder quickly accepted, and Keane joined United on the Saturday to leave Dalglish fuming.
PARK CHU-YOUNG
Monaco to Arsenal, 2011
Hijacked club: Lille
The South Korean made little impact at Arsenal, scoring once in seven appearances under Arsene Wenger.
But the Gunners boss pulled out all the stops when signing him from Monaco.
Park had seen his Monaco side relegated to Ligue 2 and informed the club he wanted to leave.
French rivals Lille quickly had a bid accepted, leading Park to travel up north for a medical.
However, he ended up vanishing from his hotel room midway through.
It later transpired Park had jumped on a Eurostar to London, where he eventually had a medical at Arsenal.
The Gunners had made a secret bid for Park behind Lille’s back, and also offered him a higher salary.
Lille were not informed about Park’s choice, leaving them in the dark as he completed his Arsenal switch.
President Michel Seydoux said at the time: “We haven’t had a telephone call, nothing.
“From what we understand he could be at Arsenal. Like Monaco, Lille are baffled. everything had been agreed.”
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Juventus to Man United, 2021
Hijacked club: Man City
Having starred during his first spell at Old Trafford, Ronaldo was eager for a second successful stint when he returned to United in 2021.
However, he very nearly ended up signing for rivals Man City.
Ronaldo ended up becoming Pep Guardiola’s top attacking target and even reached a verbal agreement with City over a contract.
But former United boss Sir Alex personally intervened, phoning Ronaldo to persuade him over a return to the Theatre of Dreams.
After discovering United were pushing for Ronaldo, City withdrew their offer — having previously been outbid for the likes of Harry Maguire and Fred.
And that paved the way for CR7 to rejoin his old club, where he won three titles and a Champions League in his first spell.
But Ronnie’s second time didn’t go quite as well, with the ace eventually falling out with Erik ten Hag before seeing his contract ripped up ahead of a move to Saudi Arabia.
EMMANUEL PETIT
Monaco to Arsenal, 1997
Hijacked club: Tottenham
Look away Spurs fans… it’s not the first time Arsenal have hijacked one of your transfers.
Nearly 20 years ago, Tottenham moved to sign Emmanuel Petit from Monaco.
The midfielder was a league champion in France and Spurs made an audacious move for his signature.
But after holding talks with Tottenham, Petit was contact by Arsenal to hold off agreeing anything.
They wanted him to speak to Arsene Wenger, who had managed him at Monaco.
Spurs then booked Petit a cab to his hotel so he could mull their offer over.
But the cheeky Frenchman instead gave the driver the address to Wenger’s house.
The pair linked up there with vice-chairman David Dein, where an agreement was struck for Petit to join Arsenal.
He recently reflected to talkSPORT: “I had meetings on the same day with Tottenham and Arsenal. I met Tottenham in the morning, but when I came to England I didn’t know about the rivalry between the two clubs.
“When I left the Spurs stadium, they booked me a cab and the cab driver asked me for directions, so I gave him the Arsenal address and I didn’t realise that the cab was pre-paid by Spurs, so they knew where I was going!
“I told Spurs that I needed time to think about it but knew that I had to see Arsenal, as well as other clubs in Italy and Spain.
“I told everyone that I’d make my mind up and when I knew the answer I would give it, but after a couple of days I signed for Arsenal and it went into newspapers and all of a sudden the story came. I realised the pressure of the rivalry then.”
LUIS DIAZ
Porto to Liverpool, 2022
Hijacked club: Tottenham
Colombian winger Diaz had been a Liverpool target for the summer of 2022.
But the Reds were left rocked when Tottenham made a move for the then-Porto star in January that year.
Antonio Conte was desperate to boost his forward options and saw Diaz as the perfect signing.
But as Spurs dragged their feet in negotiations, Liverpool decided to take a gamble.
Instead of waiting until the summer, they sanctioned a £37.5m winter bid to hijack talks.
Tottenham could not deal with Liverpool’s financial muscle, with Diaz going on to pen an Anfield agreement.
He went on to play 141 games for the Reds, winning a Premier League title and FA Cup, before joining Bayern Munich this summer.
As for Spurs, their failure to land Diaz saw them instead strike a deal for Dejan Kulusevski, who has gone on to become a key player when fit.
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