It was clear before the summer window opened what OM were playing at with Batshuayi: they were a long way short of complying with Ligue 1's FFP regulations, so they concocted a plan to meet them by whatever means necessary. Our initial bid was somewhere in the £25m range, but based on a lot of our transfers that figure was more likely £15m up front and £10m in add-ons - but what OM wanted was all the money up front, meaning they could cheat the system and comply with those FFP regulations for a good few seasons as they had the money in the bank. So they sat and waited, hoping that a Chelsea or a man City or a PSG would come along to gazump any and all other offers and offer the full fee up front, and that's what they did - and in the process cheated the system. The same thing happened with Martial the previous summer, even more blatantly considering how Monaco welcomed our interest and then stuck a long-term contract under Martial's nose, yet rather than use that as a statement of intent they used it to jack up the fee they'd receive.
Spurs bias aside, we are literally the perfect club for Tielemans: Young squad, three senior Belgian internationals, exceptional young manager who gets the best from his players, looking to progress into becoming an elite club having established a state of the art training facility with a new stadium to move into in roughly 18 months. It's gonna happen guys, I'm even more sure of it than Isco
Tielemans is an excellent prospect but if given a choice between the two, I'd still go for Isco. There isn't likely to be much of a difference in transfer fee between the two as the latter enters the final year of his contract this summer. Even though wages would be noticeably higher, he is proven at a much higher level than the Belgian. I get nervous when we take risks on players - especially young ones - from inferior leagues (yes, I know we just got knocked out of Europe by a mid-table side in said "inferior league").
I'd love to have both but won't be expecting either. We should go all-out for them but also start talking to Southampton, Bournemouth, Hull, etc. We're more likely to land something we can use from there.
There is a lot of spade work needed for Tielemans by Levy in order to sort out hbic. For starters, Spurs have to persuade the guy to have a Ms C. Thorsveldt as his new partner the moment he signs.
please log in to view this image In an interview with beIN Sport, Sissoko distanced himself from talk of him heading to Milan this summer and insisted his future lies at Spurs. If only he said his future lay at White Hart Lane, we might have found a loophole... It's telling that both Tielemans and Rabiot both play in a similar role to Dembele, albeit both have a much better passing game than Moose does.
Some tidy signings can be made from those teams; Long, Wilson and Maguire would all be welcome, would provide solid options in the squad.
Better get their photo portfolios in now, including shaved and in suit and tie (it will save a lot of time over the summer) .
And position the cardboard cut-out of Pochettino with his outstretched arm at the right height. They may even have to use different ones for Long and Maguire.
Unfortunately, the Chinese transfer window closed at 16.00 GMT. No announcement regarding any mad bids of £5 or £10 for Moussa Sissoko, as yet. Maybe the fax jammed?
No no it's all sorted. We received a last minute bid from Olympic iPhone for £3.50 and a kit-kat. I'm driving him there now. Got held up for a bit at the Turkmenistani border control, but we should be on the move again shortly. Moussa says 'thanks for all the support" by the way. He was visibly moved when I told him that we chat about him the whole time on our football forum. He said next time he's in London he'd love to meet his #1 fan, Mr Colin Lee.
If those figures are what we must pay to offload Sissoko, I still have some unchanged RMB lying around that are available for use.
