On Monday 23 January, Arnaut Danjuma was preparing for life on Merseyside, having signed a loan deal with Everton until the end of the 2022/23 season from Spanish side Villarreal.
The Nigerian winger had completed the necessary medical tests at Everton over the weekend, finished the media work that would announce his arrival at the club, such as photos and videos, and even signed the contract.
He even told reporters, broadcast on Sky Sports: "I will do absolutely everything I can to keep Everton in this League.”
Everton then sacked manager Frank Lampard, however, with Danjuma delaying on sending his registration form to the FA to confirm his signing with the club, according to Fabrizio Romano. Once he learned of Tottenham's interest later on Tuesday night, the Nigerian winger simply refused to send the form to the FA, instead driving down to London.
On Wednesday morning, the 25-year-old then signed for Spurs, leaving Everton reportedly annoyed at both the player and their Premier League rivals for hijacking a deal that was all but complete.
Fabrizio Romano said: "Tottenham decided to move during the night between Monday and Tuesday. They considered Danjuma on loan as big opportunity and so they jumped on it.
"Everton were shocked and angry as Danjuma agreed terms, did his medical tests and also media stuff."
While Everton hadn't included a mandatory clause for a permenant deal in the loan contract offered to Danjuma and Villarreal, Spurs reportedly have. The Times suggest that Spurs have agreed on terms with Villarreal for a loan deal which they will pay £2.5m for with a £27 million purchase option.
Danjuma therefore returns to the Premier League to play for Tottenham for the remainder of the season, rather than for Everton, where he looked most likely to end up.
He previously played 14 games in England's top flight in the 2019/20 season for Bournemouth, after signing from Club Brugge. Danjuma stayed with the south coast side when they were relegated to the Championship, before earning a move to La Liga with Villarreal in August 2021.
He will likely be available for Spurs' FA Cup fourth round game on Saturday away at Preston North End.
