Becks: I might have joined Spurs

Tottenham missed out on signing David Beckham because Terry Venables did not know who he was, it was claimed today.

Leytonstone-born Beckham trained with Spurs as a youngster but was distinctly underwhelmed when he met the then Tottenham manager to discuss his future.

In his autobiography, My Side, being serialised today in The Sun, Beckham, who was 12 at the time, recalls how Venables was far less welcoming than Sir Alex Ferguson.

United scouts had been alerted to Beckham's potential and were eager to offer him schoolboy terms. Beckham said: "I'd been happy training at Spurs and got on well with their youth development officer John Moncur.

"But the meeting left me feeling I had more questions than answers. Although I'd been training at Spurs for a couple of years, the manager didn't really have any idea who I was.

"I couldn't help thinking about the times I'd been up to Manchester. Alex Ferguson knew all about me. That seemed important to me.

"Terry said, 'So, would you like to sign for Tottenham?' I said, 'I'd like to think about it.' In my head, though, I was shouting: 'It's got to be United!'"