Tainio, Malbranque, Kaboul — if Roy Keane had got his way, he’d have signed all three from Spurs to bolster Sunderland’s squad… but he had to make do with two.
Every year, there are always one or two transfers that make you scratch your head in astonishment that a deal like that gets done.
Some transfers are never spoken about or reported on, making them an even bigger surprise when they do come to pass.
In the summer of 2008, reports began to circulate that Sunderland manager Roy Keane was in the market for a new winger to beef up his options.
This was in no small part due to the countless unfortunate injuries that Carlos Edwards, the hero of the 2006/07 Championship-winning season, was picking up on a regular basis.
Edwards simply — and unfortunately — couldn’t be trusted to maintain his fitness level for the duration of a season.
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With this in mind, Keane explored his options throughout the Premier League and landed on the option of Tottenham winger Steed Malbranque.
The £4 million signing of Malbranque wouldn’t have surprised many given his lack of game time at White Hart Lane, but it was the additional potential signings of Teemu Tainio and Pascal Chimbonda that surprised fans.
Reports on this day stated that Keane had expressed to his Chief Executive Peter Walker to make a bid for the three Tottenham players.
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After defender Younes Kaboul rejected the move, while his agent stated he wouldn’t even move to the North East “if there was an earthquake,” Keane seemed more confident of landing the other three players.
It was extremely unusual for a Premier League club to buy three players at once from the same club, but that is what we did in the next twelve days that followed in 2008.
