Premier League Club Bid £16m for Spanish Striker on Deadline Day

Spanish club Sevilla claim they rejected a £16m offer for striker Alvaro Negredo on transfer deadline day from an unnamed Premier League side.

The 27-year-old, who scored 14 goals in 30 league appearances for the Spanish side last season, was part of La Roja's successful Euro 2012 campaign and attracted interest from a host of European clubs over the summer.

"On the last day [of the transfer window], an English club offered Sevilla 20 millions [euros] for the striker. First, we did not think of selling him in the market, but the player also said he wanted to stay at Sevilla. And it was not the day to make sales," talkSport quoted Sevilla chairman Jose Maria del Nido as saying.

According to Metro, the club in question was Tottenham Hotspur. Andre Villas-Boas was one of the busiest managers on deadline day - he signed French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and American forward Clint Dempsey but narrowly missed out on Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho. The speculation suggests Spurs made a last-minute move for Dempsey after failing to land Negredo.

Dempsey Reveals Transfer Stress

Meanwhile, Dempsey has revealed the drawn-out saga of his departure from Fulham almost reduced him to tears.

The American beat the clock to join Andre Villas-Boas' side in a £6m move. Dempsey's future at Craven Cottage became increasingly unclear as the transfer period wound down, culminating in the player refusing to play for the Cottagers. Aston Villa had an offer accepted by the club earlier on the last day but the 29-year-old turned down the chance to join the west Midlands club.

"I just remember calling my wife and my mum and almost wanting to break down in tears because it was a tough time. Going into that last day and night, there were still a lot of question marks. It wasn't clear-cut this was going to happen," ESPN quoted Dempsey as saying.

"It was difficult for Fulham and for me, not knowing how it was going to end. It's just about having that faith, holding on to hope that something was going to happen that both parties were going to be happy with. In the end that was accomplished, but the deal didn't get done until right about 9pm, and that was when a fee was agreed," the forward added.

Dempsey could make his Spurs debut when they travel to the Madejski Stadium to play newly promoted Reading.