Explaining Spurs Transfer Window

Explaining Spurs Transfer Window

Hello once again folks and welcome to another edition of Tottenham Tittle Tattle from Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) where the current transfer talk is looked at through the eyes of wages.


Tottenham needs a squad overhaul. Mourinho needs at least seven new players, but there isn't a great deal of money available after the COVID-19 pandemic and the uproar from short-sighted fans about furloughing 500 staff.

Fortunately, we were then able to negotiate the use of the stadium as a maternity hospital so received some income which allowed us to do a u-turn on Government assistance.

We will need to sell players to buy players, just like old times.

Kyle Walker-Peters is obviously one candidate but not a valuable one, Danny Rose has gone from error prone,to exciting to poison ans isn't a player wanted at Spurs any more. He however, has said before he'll just stick around to leave on a free next summer, we'll see.

Kenyan defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama has already left on a free transfer to Canadian MLS side Montreal Impact because of the debilitating knee injury regular readers know he has had for the last two years.

That releases a squad place and an overseas squad place at that, it gets his £65,000-a-week wages off the books but doesn't bring in a transfer fee.

Belgian international Jan Vertonghen leaving will free up £100,000-a-week and Argentinian international Juan Foyth going on loan to Leeds United could release an extra £21,500 per week, depending upon how much of his wage Leeds have agreed to pay.

England international Danny Rose would free up £60,000-a-week. Kyle Walker-Peters releases another £20,000-a-week.

£65,000 +
£100,000 +
£60,000 +
£21,500 +
£20,000
= £266,500-a-week

The right-back situation is up in the air. If Meunier and Ngakia arrive then do we need Serge Aurier?

Then there is Max Aarons, if we were to get him from Norwich City at the right price then Aurier would definitely be surplus to requirements.

His salary is £70,000-a-week.

Of course players coming in would need salaries, Ngakia was asking West Ham for £20,000 so presumably we'll pay him that which takes Walker-Peters wage.

Belgian international Meunier is earning £53, 904 at PSG. We would no doubt be offering a pay rise and signing on fee, which has to be equally divided over the term of the contract he signs (all explained in the recent Eriksen For Sale article).

Would that be covered by the £66,500 saving I wonder?

Winger Ryan Fraser is expected to arrive from Bournemouth as a free agent shortly where he currently earns £37,000-a-week.

He will of course receive a wage increase and signing on fee. I would have thought £50,000 would cover that.

Where does that leave us?

Potential Wages Saving £266,500-a-week.
£66,500 +
£50,000 +
£20,000
= £136,500
Potential Wages Expenditure (so far) £136,500.

That leaves us £130,000 to play with.

Now, we are losing a centre-back in Jan Vertonghen, but Eric Dier is undergoing contract extension talks and he has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play centre-back.

That will be being discussed and he will be getting assurances that he is going to get a decent amount of time in the centre of defence.

If he wasn't, he wouldn't sign.

Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga, Eric Dier with Ben Davies as an option.

With Juan Foyth leaving we will need another centre-back in, which I suspect will be a youngster with potential for something around the £12m mark.

We are trying to sign Willian, which may be complicated by Barcelona and PSG now showing interest in him but Spurs are currently favourites.

Willian is on £120,000-a-week so they would use up basically all of the wages saving but for £10,000.

It is reported that Daniel Levy has said if Mourinho wants to sign him, with Fraser coming as well that a wide man and the name mentioned in the press is Erik Lamela, would have to go.

Erik Lamela is on £70,000 but Mourinho likes his commitment.

The area that hasn't been addressed yet though is defensive midfield or central midfield where the two main candidates are Morgan Sanson from Marseille  and Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is on £50,000-a-week and Sanson earns £43,000-a-week.

You can imagine those being increased to £65,000 and £50,000-a-week

We have now increased our wages budget by £105,000-a-week overall at a time when we have less income so that £70,000 saving from Aurier or Lamela's salary would come in handy.

The other area not addressed is another striker.

Olivier Giroud is not a cheap option.

He would have a small fee but he earns £110,000-a-week at Chelsea. Do we really want to pay that for a part-time 33-year-old back up striker?

We have spoken to the agent of Senegalese international striker M'Baye Niang who currently earns £41,464-a-week at Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais.

If we signed him and sold Aurier and Lamela we would have increased our wage budget by £10,000-a-week with all that activity.

On that, it's being reported that Niang is going to reject Tottenham. Regular readers will already know that he wants to join Marseille where he has just found a house with his wife who comes from the city.

That would move Artem Dzyuba to the top of the list, although as you know I fancy Habib Diallo of Metz as a viable option.

I must add in attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze from QPR who I told you all last summer and again in January that we had a deal with.

I'm going to suggest £20,000 wages to start, with annual increments upon signing extensions each year.

I almost forget, Michel Vorm.

He will be leaving as a free agent.

Will his salary be spent on the wages for a new keeper or will a youngster take the third role in which case we can shave some more off the figure below.

A second source feels Lamela is on £80,000-a-week and not £70,000 so if that were the case another £10,000 off.

That takes our increase in wages to £30,000-a-week.