Player hints Tottenham transfer rumours were never “concrete” – Always knew he was going elsewhere

Ever since it was suggested that Ruslan Malinovskyi was on his way out of Atalanta last summer, it was claimed that Tottenham were interested.

This continued throughout the first half of the season after the Ukrainian stayed put in Bergamo, and spilled into the January transfer window.

Then, Marseille, also keen in the summer, returned with an offer, which the player immediately accepted, with the transfer officially taking place this week.

Presented to the media alongside Pablo Longoria, the French club’s president, the player explained how his transfer took place, and addressed the stories sending him to England, where Tottenham were by far the most heavily linked.

He said, relayed by RMC Sport: “Marseille were the most concrete offer. I never had doubts. I was spoken about in England, but it wasn’t concrete. I thought I would arrive here in August, so I followed the team a lot and I like what they’re doing a lot.”

Therefore, it appears any talk of Malinovskyi preferring a move to Tottenham last summer over Marseille wasn’t true, although he was hardly going to say that in his first press conference with his new side.

The Ukraine international made his debut for the Ligue 1 side on Wednesday night, making a 23 minute cameo in their 2-0 win over Troyes