Watford striker Troy Deeney has refused to deny that he had talks with Tottenham Hotspur over a potential summer move.
Spurs were searching for a back-up forward option to Harry Kane throughout the transfer window, with Deeney linked as a potential arrival thanks to his top flight experience.
Tottenham eventually signed Carlos Vinicius from Benfica on a season-long loan deal, with an option to make the transfer permanent for £40.83million.
Despite interest from other clubs, Deeney stayed at Watford and will spearhead the club's bid to win automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
But the veteran striker admitted that conversations were held with various parties over a potential summer exit from Vicarage Road.
"I'm what, 32 [years-old], a lot of clubs were looking for a different style of striker as a back-up," he told talkSPORT.
"Obviously everyone wants to play a certain way now, but when you get into certain moments you need someone who can hold it up or if you're losing a game, for example, go long.
"So yeah, there were a lot of talks, some things materialised, some things didn't and the ones that were getting closer, you start thinking 'are you ready to go back to the Premier League to be a bit-part player'?
"I've been at Watford for 10 years, so then you start weighing up the options of 'are you ready to call it a day' kind of thing, because when you start going into that mould of being a super sub you can't really go back."
When asked if he ever had a conversation with Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, Deeney responded with a smile: "I saw Jose at the Watford Spurs game in pre-season. That's all I'll say."
