Southampton legend Cedric Soares has revealed he was close to signing for Tottenham Hotspur, before he eventually joined Arsenal.
Cedric Soares played for Southampton during the glory era. The Portuguese full-back was a tremendous asset for the Saints, playing between the years 2015–2020.
Naturally given the sport he plays in, Cedric had mixed reception during these years at Southampton. There were those who could see his talent and those who were perplexed that he bagged himself a loan to Inter Milan, let alone signing permanently for Arsenal.
Well, those fans who never saw the good side to Cedric might be surprised to know he was also close to signing for Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur were close to signing Southampton legend
According to Notícias ao Minuto, Cedric Soares has told the Portuguese media about the time he was close to joining Tottenham Hotspur. It was during his time at Southampton and a few years before Arsenal eventually signed him.
In his own words, Cedric said: “I had negotiations with PSG after Euro 2016 and I didn’t leave and then the following year, in the summer, I had negotiations with Tottenham and I didn’t leave. They had Trippier at the time, they had a good right-back, but they wanted to bring one more."
It is ironic that Cedric was in talks with Tottenham, only to sign for their arch-rivals Arsenal a few years down the line. However, it's not like Arsenal fans will look back at Cedric with as much admiration as perhaps Saints fans do.
At Arsenal, Cedric was only a squad player. Even during his loan spell, he only made five Premier League appearances before being signed permanently. Under Mikel Arteta, Cedric is regarded as one of the worst signings Arsenal have made.
Nevertheless, it might not've panned out for him well at Tottenham either given, in his own words, Tottenham only wanted another full-back option.