Tottenham Transfer Talk on Thursday 12th Aug
Tottenham Transfer Talk on Thursday 12th Aug
Good morning once again as we edge closer to the opening game of the season and edge closer to the end of the summer transfer window, although there is still 19 days to go so we haven't yet reached the nitty gritty of the last two weeks when deals are struck.
As I have said before, this is a transfer window of opportunity, which, as we can see from who we are talking to, has been realised by the club.
You will recall I wrote an article based on information from a noted football financial expert that Tottenham had money to spend this summer as the result of refinancing the one-year Bank of England loan.
That means we do not need the Kane money, although it would help an even greater overhaul, but may cost us in other areas.
With clubs in financial difficulty they have to sell assets to bring in the cash to balance the books, which will still be a Financial Fair Play requirement going forward.
Teams have overstretched themselves with loans and player wages which the loss of income has exacerbated.
To rebuild as much as we can in one window we have to force certain players out of the club so they will accept a lower wage elsewhere in return for more regular football.
Winks and Sissoko for instance, have been told they won't get much game time, which will mean not getting selected for their country with a World Cup coming up next summer.
Clubs will have recovered somewhat next summer with fans back in the stadium so taking advantage of opponents now and getting players in we otherwise could not afford perhaps, is key to getting us back into the Top 4.
For that reason, there will be more players arriving and more leaving. The positions we want to fill, we will fill.
Defensive Midfield
I gave you the heads up on two of these but Paratici has contacted the representatives three defensive midfielders that give an example of how transfer are conducted.
Clubs, not just Paratici have several targets they sound out for the same position, not try one, then try the next one, then the next one and so on as you see supporters referring to.
These three are by no means the whole list, just the players contacted recently.
26-year-old (27 next July) João Palhinha (Sporting - player details below)
28-year-old (29 in November) defensive midfielder Marcelo Brozović (Inter)
24-year-old (25 in November) Denis Zakaria (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Assume these three were your targets for the moment, Paratici has to look at there ages and how long they have left, will they have any sell-on value, can they be moved on next summer if they fail, what qualities do they bring, what qualities are we looking for, which player best suits those, as opposed to who is the best player.
Do we look short term or long term, do we need experience in certain positions, do we need experience to help other younger signings, what fee do they command, how long left do they have on their contracts (thus which is ripe for a deal), what wages and financial package to they require, what are the agents fees, how much would each player cost the club each year.
Can we get an initial loan with option to buy (try before you buy scenario), do they speak English, do they settle in a new country and new culture quickly, are there countrymen at the club to help them.
It doesn't end there but who would you choose of the three weighing everything up, Brozović with the experience, highly regarded Zakaria with years on his side or Palhinha from a lesser league/
João Palhinha
- 26-year-old (27 next July) João Palhinha
- central midfielder could be prised from Sporting for as little as £14m
- Palhinha is a 6ft 3in defensive midfielder who can win the ball, hold the midfield, is dominant aerially and can also fill in at centre-back.
- under contract until 2025
- Portuguese international (6 caps, 1 goal)
- Sporting want €35m (£25.4m - US$35.2m - AUS$47.74m)
- Paratici offered €20m + €5m add-ons
€20m + €5m
£16.94m + £4.23m
US$23.47m + $5.87
AUS$31.83m + $7.96
Dennis Zakaria would have been valued at €30m - €40m last summer but with only a year left on his contract, it is suggested in Germany that Borussia Mönchengladbach Sporting Director Max Eberl would accept €20m.
He is a player we have looked at before and tried to buy, but he chose the Bundesliga side when moving from Swiss Super League team Young Boys in the summer transfer window of 2017 for a reported €10 million.
Snippets
I keep seeing people call Lautaro Martínez a winger, he isn't, he's a striker. The stats should tell you that, 181 games as a striker, 3 as a winger!
Serge Aurier
Serge Aurier is proving to be another one of these players who will not take a pay cut to play football and is thus holding up us buying his replacement.
There are offers on the table, but none that match his wages at Tottenham.
PSG have signed Hakimi so are unlikely to need him as an understudy, AC Milan, and clubs of their stature in Germany and Spain, are not offering the wages he is on at Spurs.
AC Milan look likely to sign Alessandro Florenzi, the 30-year-old (31 next March) Italian international (45 caps, 2 goals, 3 assists) right-back from Roma on loan with an option to buy.
It's frustrating.
Last February, Barca took advantage of a loophole to sign Martin Braithwaite from fellow Spaniards CD Leganés (currently in Segunda División), who weren’t allowed to sign a replacement (don't ask me why, I haven't researched it).
Martin Braithwaite
Spanish paper Sport are suggesting that Fabio Paratici has sounded out Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite.
West Ham have a €15m (£12.68m - US$17.57m - AUS$23.90m) agreement in place with both Barca and the player, but he is happy to wait and see what happens with Harry Kane, as he prefers a move to Spurs.
Braithwaite has still got three years left on his £100,000-per-week Barcelona contract, and now Barca can’t afford to register their new signings!
He is a 30-year-old (31 next June) Danish international (56 caps, 10 goals, 6 assists) striker who has scored 13 goals and had 10 assists in 83 LaLiga games across 4,905 minutes, equivalent to 54.5 full games.
The Blaugrana club is clear that his departure is a priority but Braithwaite is in no rush to leave and has asked the club for extra time to make his decision.
Japhet Tanganga
Continuing the preparations for the next season, Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim said in the past days, "We will get a foreign defender".That is the report from Turkey and the article goes on to say they have signed him on a 1-year loan deal, not that they are trying or hoping to, but have signed him.
Perhaps there is something lost in translation or perhaps he joins when the transfer window closes.
Well that's it folks.
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