Dennis Bergkamp travelled to London to sign for Chelsea, not Arsenal as agent reveals sensational collapsed transfer

If things had gone according to plan, the Emirates statue of Dennis Bergkamp would now be standing outside Stamford Bridge.

The bronze depicts the Arsenal icon in full swing, trapping the ball in the air with his unrivaled technique on his way to becoming a club legend.

But if it were up to him, he would have worn blue, not red and white.

Bergkamp joined the Gunners in 1995 from Inter Milan after a difficult spell in Italy. Having already shown his abilities for the Netherlands and Ajax, it was certainly a surprise, but not enough of a deterrent for not one Premier League team, but two.

Looking to escape Serie A, Bergkamp had found his ideal landing spot at Chelsea, managed by his childhood hero and Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle. However, things didn’t quite go as planned.

Revealing everything behind the Chelsea legend that never was, the agent who brokered the deal, Jerome Anderson, told talkSPORT: “It’s a fascinating story and I’m not sure if it has already been told in its entirety or in its veracity.

“Dennis’ hero growing up was Glenn Hoddle. As a young man he loved wearing the No.10 jersey. Eventually, after going through a difficult time in Italy, he decided that he would like to come and play in England.

“Dennis’ situation was this, he had agreed, and we all agreed that he would sign for Chelsea and literally the day he arrived with his wife, he wouldn’t fly anymore so he was driving, I I received a call from the then Managing Director, Colin Hutchinson.

Anderson was then handed an all-powerful wrench in the works, one that could have stopped Bergkamp’s car had he been aware of it.

“He said we still wanted to sign Dennis but we didn’t have the money,” revealed the first licensed FIFA agent. “It was a real shock because we had been working on this deal for a long time.

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“I thought about it and said, ‘Well, we have Dennis coming from overseas with his wife, he’s driving, it’s going to take several hours.’

“I phoned his personal Dutch agent and explained to him what happened and said I have an idea, would you give me permission to speak to an institutional club which is Arsenal and he said Of course.”

Bergkamp’s deal set off a crazy chain of events that kept Anderson up all night to make a deal that would go down in history.

“I hung up and called vice president David Dein. I told him, ‘Something happened today and you could have an incredible opportunity to sign a player who hasn’t reached yet. his peak and who is well known as a wonderful international player who had a difficult time in Italy. That is Dennis Bergkamp.

“He said, ‘We might be interested but the first thing you need to do is talk to the manager.’ So I jumped in my car and went to (manager) Bruce Rioch and told him, ‘ Would you like to sign Dennis Bergkamp? He said, ‘Jerome, if we can sign Dennis Bergkamp, ​​I’ll sign him tomorrow.’

“I went back to my office and made a few phone calls while Dennis was still driving, unaware of what was happening.

“David knew, because I had such a strong affiliation with Arsenal, that I was sincere in my beliefs, so David arranged a board meeting that lasted several hours at his home. It was 7.5 million pounds sterling, a fixed amount, Inter Milan would not change this price.

Anderson then faced an anxious wait. Could he bring Bergkamp to his own club, or would he have to break the bad news to one of the great magicians of the game.

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“The board agreed to try and make it happen, so I phoned Dennis’ agent,” he revealed.

“Dennis came in and he was upset at first because Glenn was his hero and he couldn’t wait to work with him.

“I said: ‘Look, at least please speak to Bruce, go to Highbury and have a look at the marble walls and try to understand the history of what is a great, great club. ‘

“He agreed to that and fortunately got along very well with Mr. Rioch, and the rest is history.”

That story involved three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in 11 years, as well as the status of one of the most loved players in English football.

Such talent would probably always have broken through in England, but many in north London had no idea how close they were to having to see him perform in the colors of one of their fiercest rivals.