Gennaro Tutino came up through Napoli’s youth system and although he was promoted to the Serie A side’s first team in 2012, he never featured for them.
Before all this, however, the 23-year-old had an opportunity to leave Italy early in his career as Tottenham Hotspur were keen on adding him to their academy.
Spurs’ interest was confirmed by the Naples born player himself. He revealed this during an interview with Italian journalist Nicolò Schira and CalcioNapoli24 have relayed the comments made by the winger.
“I was 14 years old and before signing the first contract with Napoli, they [Tottenham] tried to take me to England. However, I didn’t feel like leaving Naples,” Tutino said.
The Italian has been out on loan since 2014 and is currently at Empoli, on a temporary deal until the end of this season.
Considering the way Tutino’s career has progressed since rejecting Tottenham, it looks like the player was wrong to turn down the Premier League side. Tutino, however, blames only himself for his failure to explode.
“I have my responsibilities. The fault is mine alone. I can and must do more. From Cosenza (between 2017-19) onward, I have a matured a lot in my daily routine and food management,” the player explained.
Tutino’s contract with Napoli is until 2024 and he hasn’t given up hope of featuring for them.
“My dream is always to play at San Paolo, wearing the shirt of my city. Napoli is my favourite team. I am working hard to make it one day, meanwhile my present is with Empoli and I want to do the best with them,” he stressed.
