Kevin Mirallas has admitted that Everton’s decision to block him joining Tottenham Hotspur in January 2015 left him shocked.
Mirallas left Everton on a free transfer in the summer, but his time at Goodison Park was fraught with rumours of his departure.
Tottenham wanted to sign him in January 2015, but the Belgian revealed that initially he was not prepared to leave in the middle of the season for a new club.
But once it became clear that Everton were not prepared to offer him a new deal he spoke to Daniel Levy and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino over moving to north London.
Mirallas also claimed that Tottenham presented a good offer and were prepared to let Aaron Lennon move to Everton as part of the deal.
Everton were not keen to lose the Belgian and rejected the offer but the player admitted that when the Toffees signed Lennon on deadline day in a loan deal, it left him shocked.
Mirallas told The Athletic: “I scored a lot of goals in the first part of the season and in January, my agent called to tell me a lot of teams were interested.
“I told him I didn’t want to go in January as it was better to finish the new season, but he kept calling me to say that Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino wanted me.
“Then, he also told me Diego Simeone was calling for me.
"At that moment, there were a lot of games with Everton and I said to him that I’d see what happened at the end of the season.
“But he called me again one day and said, ‘Tottenham want you, right now.’ I told him to speak to the chairman but the chairman and Roberto Martinez were saying no.
"I had two years left on my contract and Everton didn’t want me to leave but also wouldn’t give me a new contract.”
He continued: “My agent suggested Everton give me a new contract if I said no, but when I did that, they didn’t give me a new contract.
“Afterwards, Tottenham kept pushing, so I spoke to Levy and Pochettino. I thought it was a good opportunity because Tottenham were doing well, so I pushed to leave.
“They offered a lot of money to Everton, plus a player, but they rejected it because they thought the player they offered, Aaron Lennon, was not the same type of player as me.
“Finally, on the last day, they brought in Lennon.
"I remember being shocked when I got to the training ground and saw Aaron. I said, ‘Aaron, I didn’t have a problem with you because you are a good guy, but what the f**k is that?’ I was very shocked.”
Mirallas joined Royal Antwerp this summer and is looking to rekindle his career in his homeland.
