Fergie thought he had signed Gazza but then Spurs bought his sister a sunbed and it changed everything

It looked like they would sign Mykhailo Mudryk, but then Chelsea pipped them. Everton thought they were signing Arnaut Danjuma but then Tottenham beat them to the deal.

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Spurs have been stung by rivals before but they've certainly nicked players from under the noses of others, too.

In 1988, Newcastle's Paul Gascoigne was going to Man United before Tottenham hijacked the move.

Gazza even told manager Alex Ferguson he would be joining him and the Old Trafford supremo went on holiday believing United had secured the services one of football's most exciting midfielders.

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However, Spurs, under chairman Irving Scholar, swooped in and offered to buy the player's family a house which changed his mind.

"Off I go, and I'm lying by the pool when there is a Tannoy for me to take a call," Fergie explained in an interview with the late journalist David Frost. "It was [chairman Martin Edwards] telling me Tottenham had [signed him instead] by buying Paul's mum and dad a house in the north east."

The promise of a new home wasn't good enough, though, as his dad also asked for a car, given the new house had a garage.

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Not only that, Spurs also bought his sister a sunbed!

"She should have got a spray tan and I would have a few more medals," Gazza later joked as he recalled his regret on not joining United who dominated the Premier League in the 1990s.

Needless to say Fergie was not impressed when he returned.

The manager had wanted him almost as soon as he took over at United in 1986.

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A year into his reign, he was playing relegation-threatened Newcastle in the First Division.

In midfield for Man United were Norman Whiteside, Bryan Robson and Remi Moses - "all great footballers" - Fergie told Frost.

"And he just tore them apart," he said, referring to 20-year-old rising star.

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He is the one player Fergie regrets not signing, reflecting that maybe he could have helped him avoid the trappings of living in the capital as a young lad.

Gazza, meanwhile, won the FA Cup in 1991, scoring a memorable free-kick against Arsenal in the semi-final, but he injured himself in the final.

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It was bad luck after that, with his move to Lazio in 1992 not working out, though he had success at Rangers in 1995 and was part of England's Euro 96 semi-finalists.

But it could have been different.

"We could have taken London out the road of him. We had Bobby Charlton, a Geordie. We had Bryan Robson, a Geordie," Fergie added.

"We had a structure of players who could have helped him - given him some discipline."

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