Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool failed in their efforts in signing Perr Schuurs from Ajax in the summer. The centre-back left the Eredivisie winners and joined Torino last month.
Italian agent George Gardi worked as an intermediary, on behalf of the defender, to get him a move to the Serie A side.
Tuttosport have had a chat with Gardi and when discussing his switch to the Turin club, he mentioned approaches from both Tottenham and Liverpool for the 22-year-old’s services.
Spurs and the Reds were named when Gardi detailed the first contact he had with Torino sporting director, Davide Vagnati, for Schuurs.
“He seemed crazy to me. The first time the director expressed Torino’s willingness to take Perr it seems to me we were faced with something unthinkable to materialise. Over the time, clubs of the calibre of Tottenham, Liverpool or PSG had moved to take the player,” the agent said.
The deal to take the player from Ajax to the Italian club was complex. Gardi shared his views on dealing with Vagnati and Torino’s chairman, Urbano Cairo. When discussing this, the agent hinted a move to Tottenham or Liverpool wouldn’t have helped him represent the Netherlands in the future.
“The operation, as I told you, was long, but fair and in some passages even pleasant. In addition to Liverpool, Tottenham, PSG and three Italian clubs also wanted Schuurs,” Gardi explained.
“However, having taken a path, we went on to follow it without delay, even with a strong conviction: thanks to Torino, I am sure Schuurs can become a pillar of the Dutch national team. Now he is part of the tour, but the ambition is to be a protagonist.”
“At one point it was decisive, because Ajax resisted, but then decided to please the player who had asked for the sale. Without the precise intention expressed by Perr, Vagnati’s idea would have remained as such.
“Instead, we managed to give life to an idea that, when it was presented to me, really seemed to me to be on the verge of impossible. We have exceeded these limits, and now Schuurs is enjoying Torino, as much as I hope that the club and the fans can enjoy ever better performances from Perr.”
