By Chris Wright
“I’m so very happy to be here”
The transfer of Younes Kaboul from Tottenham to Sunderland went through yesterday evening with the French centre-half signing a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light.
The £4million deal was struck despite Kaboul – or more precisely, his agent – once having some rather unflattering things to say about the Black Cats after finding himself the subject of a bid from Roy Keane’s side back in the summer of 2008.
Sunderland lodged a combined bid worth around £15million for four Tottenham players deemed surplus to requirements by then-coach Juande Ramos: Steed Malbranque, Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio and one Younes Kaboul.
Three of the four deals eventually came to fruition, though Kaboul chose to stay put after deciding that a move to the obscure wastes of Wearside would be detrimental to his international chances.
The defender’s agent, Rudy Raba, then kept it nice and civil by telling the press: “Younes would not join Sunderland – even if there was an earthquake!”
“We’ve much more interesting options,” he added. “No disrespect, but playing at Sunderland would not help his international career.”
Lovely. A simple “no thanks” would’ve sufficed.
Kaboul instead joined world-renowned footballing powerhouse Portsmouth and stayed for a couple of years before following Harry Redknapp back to Spurs, where he promptly set about slipping further and further down the pecking order before falling off the bottom rung entirely last season.
Something something beggars something something choosers.