Tottenham have been named as yet another top club who were said to be interested in Chelsea's N'Golo Kante last summer. The Frenchman made the move to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £33m as he departed Premier League champions, Leicester City.
Mauricio Pochettino was said to be scouting the player as a potential recruitment to help spearhead the club's long-awaited return to the Champions League.
However,Squawkareport that Spurs were simply priced out of a deal and could not compete with the brute financial muscle of Roman Abramovich - let's face it, very few can.
Instead, the north London club opted for a cheaper option in Victor Wanyama who joined the club from Southampton for around £11m - a third of Kante's price.
Since then, both transfers have been hugely positive for both clubs. Kante has arguably improved on his sensational debut season in the Premier League, while Wanyama has added yet more defensive steel to an already combative Spurs midfield.
The two players are perhaps different in the way they operate, and as such, Spurs may have signed the right man for them - the same applies to Chelsea.
While Kante may top the list for interceptions and tackles, he is not primarily a defensive midfielder. The Frenchman operates more box-to-box, pressing the opposition into submission and driving the whole team forward.
Chelsea had Nemanja Matic to fulfil the more pragmatic role so Antonio Conte simply found a partner to perfectly compliment the Serbian international.
For Spurs, the presence of perhaps one of the Premier League's most potent midfield driving forces, Moussa Dembele, meant Pochettino had to find a more defensive-minded ally to place next to him - Wanyama has been the ideal solution.
Of course, Kante would've been a great signing for Spurs, however, fans should not dwell on them missing out on the 25-year-old as their midfield is already one of the strongest in Europe.