Eddie Howe had twice considered making a move for Dele Alli before the Newcastle United head coach mulled over a third approach in January. The former England international was in desperate need of kickstarting his career having failed to impress a succession of managers at Tottenham.
In theory, it was a deal that could have made sense given the circumstances seven months ago. Newcastle had tried before to lure Dele to Tyneside, Tottenham were desperate to offload the attacking midfielder and Howe was backed with funds and keen to add goals to his side.
However, in the end it was Everton who decided to take a gamble on the now 26-year-old. Newcastle were tentatively linked with a deadline-day swoop, but no approach was forthcoming and the Toffees beat the deadline to agree an initial free transfer that could reportedly rise to up to £40 million.
