What happened to star signings your club never made?

ByMichael Emons

BBC Sport journalist

Fans ever get excited erstwhile the transportation model comes around.

Your squad is linked with a big-name signing and you commencement to imagination they could beryllium the ones to pb your nine to glory.

Tottenham fans mightiness person felt this mode a fewer years agone erstwhile they were powerfully linked with a young, prolific striker from Nigeria by the sanction of Gift Orban.

They had each reason, connected insubstantial astatine least, to beryllium excited.

In the summertime of 2023, Orban, past 21, was regarded arsenic 1 of the hottest prospects successful the game.

After scoring 16 goals successful 22 games for Norwegian top-flight broadside Stabaek, helium moved to Belgian broadside Gent and continued his awesome goalscoring record, netting 20 times successful 22 matches.

In a chaotic four-day play successful March 2023, helium scored 7 goals successful 2 matches. He got 4 successful a 6–2 distant league triumph implicit Zulte Waregem, becoming the archetypal Gent subordinate with a four-goal haul successful 1 crippled successful the 21st Century.

He past followed up with a quick-fire hat-trick successful a 4–1 distant triumph implicit Istanbul Basaksehir successful the Conference League past 16.

That hat-trick was completed wrong 3 minutes and 25 seconds, astatine the clip a grounds successful Uefa nine competitions.

With England skipper Harry Kane acceptable to articulation Bayern Munich aboriginal that summer, Tottenham needed a striker.

Orban was adjacent touted successful the BBC Gossip Column arsenic the club's Kane replacement. The header of a follow-up communicative read: "Could Orban beryllium a planetary star?"

However, Spurs, with caller brag Ange Postecoglou precocious appointed, stalled astatine the £25m interest and the determination collapsed.

In the 3 years since, Orban has had 4 clubs, astir precocious joining newly-promoted Turkish top-flight broadside Amedspor connected indebtedness past week.

He has struggled to regain his signifier with lone 3 goals for Gent successful 2023-24, 3 for French broadside Lyon and 4 for Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim, though helium scored 7 times successful Serie A connected indebtedness astatine Verona past season.

While his vocation is yet to scope the heights it erstwhile promised, different missed transportation targets person had alternatively antithetic outcomes...

In January 2009, newly-rich Manchester City were looking to walk a spot of their bulging slope equilibrium to motion Brazilian playmaker Kaka.

AC Milan and Kaka's heads were turned by City's staggering £108m offer, which would person been much than treble the satellite grounds transportation astatine the time.

One City instrumentality was truthful definite the woody would beryllium done that helium seemingly got the playmaker's sanction tattooed connected his chest., external

However, successful the end, the 2007 Ballon d'Or victor decided the timing wasn't close and turned down the accidental to determination to Manchester.

Kaka did marque a world-record determination aboriginal successful 2009, joining Real Madrid for £56m six months later.

He won the Spanish Cup successful 2011 and La Liga the pursuing twelvemonth earlier 1 play backmost astatine AC Milan.

He past spent 3 years astatine Major League Soccer broadside Orlando City earlier ending his playing vocation backmost successful his homeland with Sao Paulo.

In 2004, Bolton Wanderers were flying high, with dreams of Europe.

Manager Sam Allardyce went big, with an enquiry for 32-year-old Brazilian World Cup victor Rivaldo, who had been frozen retired astatine AC Milan.

Rivaldo himself made a statement, saying: "I privation the situation of trying to get Bolton into Europe for the archetypal clip successful their history. It is an breathtaking time."

In the end, helium had a alteration of bosom and went to Greek broadside Olympiakos instead, wherever helium stayed for 3 seasons.

Bolton finished that 2004-05 run successful sixth - tied connected points with Liverpool and conscionable 3 points disconnected the apical four. That earned them a spot successful Uefa Cup qualifying, and they went connected to scope the past 32.

After Olympiakos, Rivaldo had spells with AEK Athens, past successful Uzbekistan and Angola earlier returning to Brazil.

In 1995, Blackburn Rovers had conscionable won the Premier League rubric and turned down the accidental to motion a young French midfielder, Zinedine Zidane from Bordeaux.

Club absorption urged proprietor Jack Walker to bargain Zidane and France guardant Christophe Dugarry, but Walker famously replied: "Why bash we request Zidane erstwhile we person Tim Sherwood?"

Sherwood had lifted the Premier League trophy a fewer months earlier and some Zidane and Dugarry had flown to England to speech to the nine but nary woody was completed.

Zidane and Dugarry went connected to triumph the World Cup with France successful 1998 and the European Championship 2 years later, with Zidane lifting 2 Italian titles with Juventus and past La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid.

Dugarry had spells astatine AC Milan, Barcelona, Marseille and backmost astatine Bordeaux, though helium did extremity his vocation successful England with 2 seasons astatine Birmingham City.

In 2005, conscionable disconnected the backmost of a sensational Champions League triumph erstwhile Liverpool fought backmost from 3-0 down astatine half-time against AC Milan earlier winning connected penalties, Steven Gerrard upset the reddish fractional of Merseyside. He handed successful a transportation request.

Chelsea brag Jose Mourinho was funny successful acquiring the England midfielder's services successful a imaginable £32m move, with Gerrard refusing to motion a caller contract.

Eventually Gerrard decided to enactment with Liverpool, citing "family reasons". Gerrard would spell connected to marque much than 700 appearances for the Reds and usher them to the 2007 Champions League final, though AC Milan would get their revenge.

Ten years later, Mourinho said his failure to motion Gerrard was 1 of his top transportation disappointments.

France striker Kylian Mbappe is the grounds goalscorer successful World Cups, helping his state triumph the 2018 contention and past scoring a hat-trick successful the 2022 last arsenic Les Bleus mislaid connected penalties to Argentina.

However, helium could person been a Liverpool subordinate successful 2017 arsenic helium had talks with the Reds erstwhile inactive astatine Monaco.

"I talked to Liverpool due to the fact that it's the favourite nine of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool," said Mbappe.

Then-Liverpool brag Jurgen Klopp recently revealed however the nine laid connected a backstage pitchy and nutrient for Mbappe and his family.

However, contempt his mother's favourite nine being the Reds, Mbappe joined Paris St-Germain, wherever helium won six successive Ligue 1 titles earlier joining Real Madrid successful 2024.

France striker Antoine Griezmann has had a large career, but ne'er played successful the Premier League.

But helium astir did, with Fulham making an improbable £12m bid for him successful January 2014 erstwhile the Cottagers were warring to enactment successful the Premier League.

Fulham enquired astir Griezmann to his nine Real Sociedad and were quoted a terms of £12m. In the end, the westbound London broadside spent that fig connected Olympiakos striker Kostas Mitroglou, who lone played 3 Premier League matches, scoring nary goals, earlier the Cottagers were relegated.

Mitroglou past had indebtedness spells backmost astatine Olympiakos and past Benfica, who helium joined permanently successful 2016-17.

Griezmann stayed successful Spain with 9 seasons implicit 2 spells astatine Atletico Madrid and 2 years astatine Barcelona. He helped France triumph the World Cup successful 2018.