Alderweireld buyout clause no longer valid

The is a popular misconception that Daniel Levy leaves everything to the last minute when, in fact, all clubs will try to buy players towards the end of a window as clubs are forced to sell and prices are cheaper. The majority of transfer happen in the last two weeks.

That, however, does not mean that things have not been arranged before. A player can sign for who he wants and can refuse to sign for who he wants, throwing an extra few million at a club does not change a players mind, it has nothing to do with him. Simply blaming the club is rather short sighted, in some cases it may be extra would have secured a deal but Tottenham are not in a financial position to throw money around.

A deal to sign a player usually takes weeks, often months as every detail is discussed, The press only hear about deals when they are approaching the end and a signing is perhaps near but plenty goes wrong. The player may not like the deal on the table, he may be waiting for a bigger club and be a backup option for them, the way Morgan Schneiderlin is for Manchester United. The selling club may simply want to high a fee or a payment structure can't be agreed, the size and clauses of add-ons, there could be problems with image rights, a whole number of things.

Deal get agreed in principle and sounding out a player will simply be finding out the sort of wages he is seeking and what the sale price might be from his club. There is still detail to be worked out and many a deal fall through in the detail. You talk to any financial planner who works for a Premier League footballer and you'll start to appreciate the complexity of deals.

Just take the Toby Alderweireld transfer saga. Southampton had a loan agreement with a buy option, the player doesn't want to join them. Southampton insists Atletico bought out his buyout clause too late and Atletico have now claimed the loan to Southampton ended on 30 June and, therefore, the clause is no longer valid.

Tottenham waits on the sidelines while the legal departments argue with each other, legal departments from two different countries with different laws. Is there a jurisdiction issue, does it matter what country it was signed in, is the agreement solely between the clubs or did Alderweireld sign a contract that binds him, presumably not.

The resolution will be in the contract detail, the expectation is that it goes Spurs way and probably ends any chance we had of getting Morgan Schneiderlin.

Further Reading
Saints consider legal action over Alderweireld
Adebayor sale in a week?