West Ham United new boy Michail Antonio has admitted that he cried when his mother prevented him from joining Tottenham Hotspur.
The aborted move happened when the forward was only 14.
Speaking to the Mirror, the attacker revealed how his mum prevented a move to Spurs when he was a teenager as she wanted the young star to concentrate on his education.
“When I was 14 I had a trial for Tottenham,” the 25-year-old began.
“They were thinking of signing me but my mum said no. She said education comes first,” he continued.
“Did I hate her at the time? You couldn’t imagine. I was crying and all sorts.
“It’s one of those things, I had to travel to north London and I’d probably get home at midnight every night and I had school the next day, she said ‘no it’s not do-able’. If it was south, then maybe.
“But it was the best thing she has done for me. I managed to get my diploma in sport, so it’s one of those things where everything happens for a reason and now I’ve finally got here and I can’t complain. And she’s buzzing about me joining West Ham!”
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Walthamstow-born Antonio eventually made his way up the football ladder after learning his trade with Tooting & Mitcham United.
He moved to Reading in 2008, but his stay in Berkshire was punctured with loan stays away with the likes of Cheltenham Town, Southampton and Colchester United.
The winger eventually moved to Sheffield Wednesday, and then onto Nottingham Forest, before making the move to the Premier League, to Slaven Bilic’s West Ham, this summer.
Intriguingly, while Antonio moved to Upton Park for a £7 million fee [as per the Mirror], Tottenham could have done with more reinforcements in wide areas.
Andros Townsend and Eric Lamela have struggled to impress in the Premier League, while Aaron Lennon has departed. While Antonio may take his time to adapt to the EPL, he boasts the kind of potential that could have boosted Mauricio Pochettino’s wide options.