20 May 2024 , 12:52
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Kevin Phillips has revealed how Arsene Wenger admitted he "got it wrong" about not signing the former Premier League hotshot.
The ex-England striker was hot property after his stunning 1999/2000 season with Sunderland, where he bagged 30 league goals and scooped both the Premier League Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe.
Despite the buzz around him, Phillips never made the switch to Highbury. Instead, Wenger opted for Everton's young talent Francis Jeffers in a deal worth £8 million, reports Football London.
Jeffers, only 20 at the time, struggled to make an impact at Arsenal He was hampered by injuries and unable to displace stars like Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, eventually scoring just eight times in 39 appearances before moving to Charlton in 2004.
Phillips, who eventually joined Southampton in 2003 after Sunderland's drop from the top flight, spilled the beans on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast with Sam Allardyce and Natalie Pike. He disclosed that his agent had discussions with both Tottenham under Glenn Hoddle and Arsenal under Wenger.
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"My agent had chats with Tottenham when Glenn Hoddle was the manager and Arsene Wenger as well which for me would have been a dream come true," he revealed. He added: "I know it for a fact that Arsene had to make his mind up between me and Francis Jeffers. And at the time, Francis was on a free, he was younger, and I was obviously going to cost a lot more money and I was a lot older."
Kevin Phillips remains the only Englishman to win the European Golden Shoe"Ironically now whenever I've bumped into Arsene at the odd thing he goes 'Kevin I think I may have got it wrong'." Boyhood Gunners fan Phillips then confessed that the chance to play alongside Thierry Henry would have been "incredible".
He remarked: "I'm thinking 'thanks for telling me now' because I'd been a young Arsenal fan to watch Thierry Henry for me is the best Premier League striker there's ever been. So if I had the chance to train and play with him would have been incredible."
After taking on the managerial role at South Shields in 2022, Phillips departed Hartlepool last month after successfully steering the club to safety. He alleged that the National League side had initially offered him a two-year contract, only to later backtrack on the offer.
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