Agent bombshell: Tottenham £60m deal ‘Off the table’ – Exclusive
Tottenham will not be spending £60million-plus on any player this summer, a leading agent has told Football Insider.
London’s richest club have come in for fierce criticism by taking advantage of the Government’s furlough scheme weeks after announcing a pre-tax profit of £87m in their newly-published accounts.
A well-connected senior agent has told Football Insider that Spurs know they cannot be seen to be spending huge amounts on a single player in the next window.
That rules out a repeat of the club-record capture of Tanguy Ndombele, signed from Lyon last summer for an initial £54m rising to a potential £63m with add-ons.
Spurs have put their scouting work on hold in April and May due to the financial crisis caused by Covid-19.
But they are still expected to be active in this summer’s window as they continue the major overhaul that began last summer and continued in January.
Giovani Lo Celso’s loan from Real Betis was converted into a permanent transfer, Steven Bergwijn signed from PSV Eindhoven and Gelson Fernandes joined on an initial loan, all in the winter window.
Expectations of more Ndombele-type deals this summer can be ruled out.
“There’s no chance of Tottenham doing that kind of deal again,” the renowned agent told Football Insider. “You can’t furlough staff, use the government’s job retention scheme and then fork out £50-60 million on a player.
“I was expecting them to be one of the busier Premier League clubs this summer. That may still be the case, but don’t expect them to spend huge sums on one player.
“I was told they were looking in that [£50-60m] bracket before, but they won’t be now. Those deals are off the table.”
Spurs have made preliminary moves to prise Willian from Chelsea when his contract expires in the summer, although that deal is currently on hold.
Like all clubs, the Londoners are waiting to see how plans to complete the current season unfold, and the impact this will have on their transfer budget.
In other Tottenham news, a senior Spurs star is struggling with Mourinho’s demands amid the UK-wide lockdown.