Tottenham Talk - The Kane Negotiation
Tottenham Talk on Saturday 21st The Kane Negotiation
Good morning and welcome another Spurs Chat with Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) on Saturday 21st Aug.
Football off the field seems to beyond some people, including ex-players who don't seem to understand how reality works.
They don't seem to live in the real world.
You have a buyer and a seller, the seller may be a reluctant seller but in any case, the chairman or president, CEO, whatever title you give him, he has got to maximise the income from the sale of his clubs assets.
It is basic business practice to buy low, sell high.
Why should a football club selling a commodity (player) be any different?
It isn't.
It works both ways.
Yes it means we can't buy a player we feel is overvalued like Crystal Palace demanding £70m for Wilfried Zaha.
We weren't prepared to pay that so we didn't buy him.
Manchester City have that same choice whether they want to pay our asking price or not, it is not down to Daniel Levy to sell Harry Kane on the cheap.
He would be failing in his duty to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club if he did that.
That is the real world, that is the world Simon Jordan speaks as he has been an owner of Crystal Palace, been a chairman, knows first hand the inside business of football and being a success in business.
Ex-Manchester City player Trevor Sinclair does not.
He seems to be of the opinion, as do a lot of others, that Daniel levy should accept the cheap price that Manchester City want to pay.
Why?
Because that is what is best for Harry Kane.
Well sorry, but Daniel Levy's first responsibility is to Tottenham Hotspur, not Harry Kane and certainly not Manchester City.
Simon Jordan understands that but a former Manchester City player doesn't.
"I think that there's a balance between Manchester City being prepared to buy what Tottenham think is a certain valuation, Tottenham having the courage of a football club's convictions."Tottenham are not going to buckle."They are not going to do what Leicester did, which is allow Riyad Mahrez to run roughshod over them and to be able to get out of Leicester because he's prepared to go on strike and Harry Kane's in a really invidious position because he's the England captain."He's got a profile, he's got a brand or sort of an identity that goes alongside him and Tottenham have got him for three years, so if Man City want him, bad news for you guys over there with his big bag of cash. you've got you've got to pay precisely what Tottenham Hotspur want or buzz off."
Now I have been clear from before the outset that Harry Kane is worth £200m, even in today's financial market.
It is not Daniel Levy's problem that a worldwide pandemic has ruined Harry Kane's plans.
It is not Daniel Levy's job to bend to appease what Harry Kane wants.
He does not work for Harry Kane, Harry Kane works for him.
Daniel Levy demands top dollar for Spurs players, always has, this situation is no different than selling Jake Livermore (who went on to play for England), just higher stakes with more involved, but the principle is the same.
Buy low, sell high, maximise your income from EVERY sale.
The £1m for Joe Hart was important, it helped cover his costs and the agents fees and loyalty bonus upon selling him.
Incidentally, he had an excellent game for Celtic in midweek, making an early point blank save against AZ Alkmaar in their UEFA Europa League qualifying tie.
The £200m is your starting point for any negotiation.
You have a figure you are prepared to go down to during negotiations but obviously you don't reveal that, you keep everyone guessing.
It is a bonus if you don't get down to that figure.
We have a situation where Daniel levy feels Man City have not come in with a figure that is high enough to start negotiations.
Manchester City will have a figure they are prepared to pay and will come in with a lower figure hoping to negotiate to the actual figure they are prepared to pay, any thing less is a bonus.
What we have had all summer is a jockeying for position.
A pre-negotiation battle.
You see it is important WHERE negotiations start.
Man City want them to start at a low figure so the price can't then rise too much.
Tottenham want them started at a high figure so they can't go down to much.
Manchester City and Harry Kane's camp have been leaking and talking to the press to put pressure on Daniel Levy and Spurs who have simply remained silent.
Any figure you see in the press has either come from City, Kane or simply a bit of guesswork from the journalist.
It doesn't matter to Daniel Levy what figures City try and set public opinion at, he has his figure, City know it and until we are in that ball park, nothing happens.
I don't need to sell, you come to me on my terms or don't come to me at all and our player remains here.
That's the battle being waged at the moment, before negotiations have even started.
Now, unless we have a replacement lined up, it is getting too late.
Clubs wait until the end of a window to reduce the price from clubs who have to sell, but Spurs do not have to sell one of the best strikers in the world, so there is no pressure there.
I have no doubt City told Kane to go on strike and force a move, no doubt at all, but it hasn't worked.
The old adage you don't keep an unhappy player, but we are not talking about any old player, we are talking about the England captain and a world class striker who wants to lead his country in the World Cup next summer.
Harry Kane will perform next season if he has to stay so there isn't that pressure there either.
There is no reason doe Daniel Levy to lower his price, no reason at all.
"I've always said it was £150m, that's where they would be and that's what they'll try and get to through some mechanism or another, wherever there's £125m up front and £25m in real tangible, real legitimate bonuses that can make it up to £150m. Man City can do that if they want."
Trevor Sinclair says that is too much and City shouldn't buy at that figure, that's fine, don't buy him then. Goodbye.
"In the greater scheme of things with a football club that's got more money than god, you know they have right, what's the difference between £125m and £150m, principles."£25m that falls out of their pocket on the way to the game."It's almost laughable to say well I'll do 125 but not 150. We are talking about 16% more."
Now Trevor Sinclair tried to raise an argument that £150m isn't good for the game, well nor is £125m suggested Jordan and I'll suggest nor is £100m for an England fringe players, when even Villa fans think they already have players in Grealish's position who are better.
"They could buy, they could buy early in the window, you're talking about principles rather than the practical reality, this is sentiment rather than facts."The facts of the matter is if you can go down £25m if you're going to go £125m you can get £150m. you're not buying harry potter 125 million"You're not buying for any resale value, you're buying for the here and now, you're trying to buy the Champions League, you're trying to ensure your position is protected as the elite force in English football, dominating English football by buying the best players around."
That is exactly what Bayern Munich do in the one-team German league, any player playing in the Bundesliga they snap up, what Juventus do in the one-team Italian league, anyone in Serie A they snap up.
Inter have had to overspend and go into financial difficulty to compete and now are having to sell top players as a result.
That is what many Spurs fans have been calling for at White Hart Lane, not appreciating what it actually means.
Trevor Sinclair suggests they are trying to compete, but they are not trying to compete domestically, they are trying to dominate and turn our league into the same as the rest of the top tier leagues in Europe.
If you want to compete at a European level then you need to pay the money to get the best players, you ain't getting any from us on the cheap.
There could still be twists in the saga and it affects what Spurs do in the transfer market.
If Kane stays then we could buy a back-up striker, an experienced pro or promising 20 something, such as the names I have been bringing you throughout the window.
That may or may not mean buying a top level striker next summer, but who knows what will happen then when Kane (28) will be valued at £100m minimum (Lewandowski 33 tomorrow valued at £85.74m by Bayern).
If he goes we have to have a top level striker with little time to buy one but this may be the time to overspend if a club needs money.
We'll see.
Well that's it folks.
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2 comments
Thanks very much for the details once more .
(For the hard of understanding)
Another great blog Clive :-)