Pundit: Tottenham have made £15m transfer blunder as update on Doherty reported
Tottenham must write the signing of Matt Doherty off as a “failure”, according to Noel Whelan.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 29-year-old has failed to “live up to expectations” in north London.
Doherty signed for Tottenham in August 2020 from Wolves for a reported £15million.
According to The Athletic (22 December), Antonio Conte is willing to let the Republic of Ireland international, as well as Dele Alli, leave in the January window in order to raise transfer funds.
Whelan insisted the signing of the 29-year-old will be chalked up as a “mistake”.
“They’ve got to write that one off as a failure,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“Sometimes signings work, sometimes they don’t. Doherty is one that never really excited the Tottenham fans anyway.
“The way Emerson Royal has come in, and the way he plays in that attacking wing-back style, box-to-box, it’s going to be very difficult for Doherty to find a way back.
“He’s not lived up to expectations at all. He’s been very hit and miss for them.
“Tottenham will look back on that signing and see it as a mistake. He’s never really performed for them, and I don’t think he can cut it going forwards.
“They’ll be thinking they’ve wasted a fair bit of money on that one. They won’t be feeling aggrieved to see him leave, put it that way.”
Doherty has made just three Premier League appearances for Tottenham this term, totalling 54 minutes of action.
The Republic of Ireland international has made four starts this term, three of which have come in the Europa Conference League.
In other news, an insider has been told by “multiple sources” that Tottenham are “confident” of agreeing a new contract with Harry Kane.