Report: Tottenham Hotspur Missed Out on Real Madrid Star Marco Asensio in 2014

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly missed out on signing Real Madrid star Marco Asensio in 2014, with the Spain international agreeing to a deal with Los Blancos later in the year.

According to Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal), scout Ramon Planes―now with Barcelona―recommended the 22-year-old to Spurs after seeing him in action, but the club didn't follow up.

Sport Witness added Barcelona were also looking at the player when he signed for Los Blancos from Mallorca.

At the time, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was in his first season with the club and Asensio was a young prospect starting to make a name for himself. He had mostly stood out with Mallorca's reserve team and in the Spanish youth setup, but it wasn't seen as a sure thing.

He improved dramatically during the 2014-15 campaign, however, and was excellent for Espanyol while on loan with the Catalans in 2015-16.

Los Blancos saw enough during that one-year spell to bring him into the fold for good, and he hasn't disappointed:

The European champions have rotated him in and out of the squad the last few seasons, but he has started all three La Liga matches of the current campaign. He's also been a smash hit for the national team, scoring and providing three assists in Spain's last outing against 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia.

Per OptaJose, he put on quite the show:

Spurs boss Pochettino has built up a sterling reputation for unlocking the full potential of his youngsters, evidenced by his work with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen. It's intriguing to think what he could have done with Asensio, who likely would have played a lot more minutes in north London the last few seasons as opposed to being in the rotation at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He has expressed his desire to stay with Real, however, saying he never even considered a departure, per Goal's Sacha Pisani. With Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, many are predicting a breakout season for the former Mallorca man, who seems ready to step into his place in the team.