Peter Crouch reveals just how close he came to signing for Sunderland

Crouch, who was then playing for Portsmouth, headed to Wearside in the summer of 2009 as a move to the Stadium of Light grew closer.

And while the club’s interest in the striker was well-documented, few knew just how close Crouch came to putting pen to paper with the Black Cats – having already been shown around houses in the area.

“History shows I went from Portsmouth to Tottenham in the summer of 2009 but it could quite easily have been Portsmouth to Sunderland,” said Crouch, speaking to the Daily Mail.

“Steve Bruce was keen to sign me and it got to the point where I flew up to the North East from the South Coast.

“Steve took me around Sunderland’s fantastic training ground, we had lunch together and I was even taken to the areas where the other players lived to look at possible houses.

“I was prepared to move there over Fulham, who had also shown a significant interest.

“On the way back home, though, I got a call from Harry Redknapp, who asked me about my plans.

“When I told him about Sunderland, he made his pitch for Tottenham and having not even been in the picture, I was suddenly headed for White Hart Lane. I’m glad it worked out as it did.”