They thought they had their breakthrough on Wednesday when talks with Crystal Palace moved forward for Eberechi Eze, a player they had tracked since his early days at Loftus Road, only to see Arsenal step in and snatch him at the final stage.

Arsenal were linked with Eze at the start of the window, but things became quiet on that front in recent weeks. That’s when Tottenham stepped up and tried to sign him, but David Ornstein has now revealed that Eze kept asking people around him and his teammates if they knew anything about Arsenal’s interest in him.