MusaAlan Hutton has revealed that leaving Rangers to join Tottenham Hotspur in January 2007 remains one of the biggest regrets of his professional football career, admitting that he should have waited until the end of the season before making the switch to North London.
The former Scotland international joined Spurs after a prolonged transfer saga that dominated much of the January transfer window. However, reflecting on the decision years later, Hutton believes his departure from Ibrox came at the wrong time, particularly given what Rangers went on to achieve that season.
Although the ex-defender is largely content with how his career developed, he admits that leaving Rangers midway through the campaign is one decision he would reconsider if given another opportunity.
Speaking to FootballPredictions.com, Hutton explained that he rarely looks back on his career with regrets but singled out his January move to Tottenham as an exception.
“ I don’t tend to look back on my career and think ‘what if’ or if I’d done something different; I’m happy with the way it panned out. But it’s probably the one thing for me, leaving Rangers in January 2007. I should have stayed till the end of the season,” he said.
With the benefit of hindsight, Hutton believes remaining at Rangers for the rest of the campaign would have allowed him to experience one of the club’s most memorable European adventures. The Scottish giants subsequently reached the UEFA Cup final that season, an achievement the former full-back would have loved to be part of.
Hutton also revealed that his eventual move to Tottenham was far from straightforward, with negotiations dragging on for almost the entire January window. The transfer saga became so intense that arrangements were made for him to travel to England, only for him to refuse to go at one stage.
Recalling the uncertainty surrounding the deal, Hutton admitted that he initially resisted the move despite growing pressure from both clubs.
“I mean, it went on for pretty much the whole of January. I was getting told I had a plane arriving to take me down. I didn’t turn up for it. I was saying no at one stage, like, ‘That’s it, absolutely not, I’m not going.’ But yeah, I wish I’d just waited until the summer,” he added.
Despite his initial reluctance, discussions with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and the opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League eventually persuaded Hutton to accept the offer.
The prospect of playing in England’s top flight proved difficult to turn down, bringing an end to his spell at Rangers earlier than he now wishes it had.
Ultimately, Hutton has come to believe that patience would have served him better. Staying at Ibrox until the end of the season would have given him the chance to contribute to Rangers’ impressive European campaign before beginning a new chapter in England.
While his Tottenham move offered him the opportunity to compete in the Premier League, the former Scotland defender continues to look back on his January 2007 departure as a decision he would have handled differently.
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