Stoke City forward Peter Crouch has opened up on his deadline day exit from Tottenham Hotspur in 2011, admitting that it came as a shock.
The striker had been at Spurs for two years, making 93 appearances for the club and scoring 24 goals, including the one that took them into the Champions League for the first time in 2010.
But on deadline day in 2011, Crouch was informed he was no longer wanted at White Hart Lane, which led him to a £12million move to Stoke City, where he has played since.
Speaking in his column for the Daily Mail, Crouch said: “Stoke City have become a huge part of my life and the last six-and-a-half years have been brilliant but on August 31, 2011 I was only thinking about Tottenham. I was settled but everything changed after I walked into Harry Redknapp’s office, straight into a conference call with Daniel Levy.
“In a nutshell, Levy bluntly explained Tottenham were getting rid of me. Harry wanted to sign Emmanuel Adebayor, Stoke had offered big money — £16million — in a double deal for Wilson Palacios, the Honduran midfielder, and that was that. The chairman told me I was going.
“A few months earlier, I’d scored the winner against AC Milan in a Champions League tie at the San Siro. I made 45 appearances and finished the campaign with 11 goals and had two years left on my contract, but Levy said I’d be frozen out. All I could think as he spoke was ‘that’s a bit harsh!'”
Crouch has gone on to make 224 appearances for the Potters in his six-and-a-half years at the Britannia Stadium, scoring 57 goals in that time.
OPINION
Crouch’s exit from Spurs was rather sudden, especially considering the big goals that he had scored for the club in the seasons previously. The goal that got the club into the Champions League for the first time, with Crouch heading past Marton Fulop after a deflected cross, will be etched in the memory of all Spurs fans forever. His account of the deadline day move is interesting though, giving a small insight into how life-changing the day can be for a player.