Sure. "There's no sign of any interest from any of Europe's other top clubs, either. If Leicester were able to sign him on loan in January, then potentially again this summer, there must be something that's keeping others away, too?" 1. Lack of interest does not imply lack of value. Nobody else was biting the hand of Madrid when they wanted to offload VDV. 2. PL club suitors Most Euro clubs cannot outbid the silly money in the PL. My interest in Tielemans is his play seems to be fast/forward/direct, and in 4 months he has shown he is PL grade. As Spurs seek to compete with the squad that Citeh are able to assemble with impunity, having a toolbox with a differing set of capabilities is IMHO of great importance.
So important question: when does our Twitter start to get inundated with "Announce Sessegnon" tweets? Lo Celso Watch L'Equipe have mentioned that, while we were negotiating the finer details of Ndombele's contract, we were also fielding calls with Betis
It's seismic for me because of the surrounding circumstances, i.e. we've bought at the opening of the window, a player who all of Europe's top clubs would be interested in and who wanted to come to us. Apparently, Lo Celso wants to come too and I believe that he will be here this summer. It's been a long time since we've been able to do that kind of business but it'll not be enough we don't make a healthy net spend. By healthy, I mean £100m+. We're still 4 or 5 positions short of where we need to be, to be competitive and even if we shift out Trippier, Aurier, Toby, Christian Eriksen and some academy products, we need to be spending that kind of money to get in the quality we need.
1. As I recently said, THFC could make a capital repayment of 50m on new WHL and still have PROFITS of 170m odd to use on player funding. 2. I expect players to be sold. However I know that all incomings will not be dependent on outgoings being done and dusted first.
I would add Lamela to that list too - We also have Llorentes wages back in the pot and can expect Janssen and N'Koudou to depart as well.
Ndombele Watch ✔️ L'Equipe's run an article breaking down how we got the transfer over the line, which makes for interesting reading (and, no, that's not a jab at the job Google Translate... made of it) and here's some notable passages Juventus, which had multiple meetings with [Ndombele’s] entourage for several months to the point of having a global contractual agreement, Tottenham is the most active in this last timeline. At the end of June, London is a rather discreet meeting place. And, immediately, Mauricio Pochettino, accompanied by his French-speaking assistant Miguel D’Agostino, makes a strong impression. Ambitions, positioning, use, work ethic: the technician does not hide anything from Ndombele and convinces him with, in essence, a message: “Yes, it will be hard but I want to keep the Tanguy that you are. The Tanguy that projects, which breaks lines.” The demanding Argentine wants the player to have freedom but adds that he will also have to be more decisive in the last move. Feeling passes quickly. Requested by Tottenham since February, Ndombele is convinced. Juventus, which finalized the arrival of Adrien Rabiot, had waited. Manchester United asks him to wait again, trying to settled the deal with Paul Pogba. Since an appointment in early May with Antero Henrique, the former sports director of PSG, he is no longer there. It remains to be concluded. No small deal with the president who scares all European agents, even the most reckless: Daniel Levy. The boss of Tottenham is never better than when there’s a brawl. After several days of discussions, Levy convinces Jean-Michel Aulas during the weekend. Spurs must now complete the contractual agreement with the agents of the player: Mounir Sidhoum and Romain Fernandez. And from the first hours, the boss of Spurs fixed the course: “You will not leave without having signed with us,” he slips into a smile, tinged with challenge. The hours go by and the discussions are intense. Assisted by the fearsome Rebecca Caplehorn, Director of Football Operations since 2015, Levy is not bending. Camp Ndombele either. The discussions, interspersed with sequences of bluff, stretch in the evening of Monday. And after six hours of sleep, they resume Tuesday morning. The phones heat up: Levy negotiates in parallel to bring Giovani Lo Celso. For Ndombele, the goals are getting closer. The entourage of the player touches the goal he had set on the contractual plan: make the Frenchman one of the highest paid players in the group. Long regarded as one of the hottest clubs in the Premier League, Tottenham has changed its pay grid, and Ndombele benefits. The emoluments of the French are at the height of the historical character of the transfer, the largest purchase of the English club and the biggest sale of the French club. For a more boiled down take there's the GFFN version
On the way to being a PL CL incumbent, A financially well-run club. An appearance in a CL final after just 4 seasons participation. A decent manager with a vision and ambition. English players, young and established, progress to become international regulars. Circumstance indeed.
I think that we're looking at a major overhaul. We've got money to spend and players to move on. It might not hit the first team straight away. I could see us starting only Ndombele and a new right back in our opening games, even if we buy Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Ceballos, New Striker III and a centre back. New players need time to settle, we have money and our allure is at an all-time high. Buy now and start the 2nd revolution.
If you make a repayment of ~8% (capital and interest) of your total debt in your first year, you are doing quite well indeed.
My summary reading is that both Levy and Aulas emerge with their pride high (win-win is always the best strategy) . NDombele may be on decent wages but I doubt tis at a level that will irk the current established high-performing players in the squad.
One thing to consider is trimming the fat in the U23s, as the squad looks pretty goddamn bloated after the recent wave of professional contracts being doled out Shayon Harrison was reportedly told to look for a new club towards the end of the season while Maxwell Statham has had trials at other clubs so they're both obvious candidates to move on, while Shilow Tracey is a fixture of reports suggesting trimming from U23 fat. On top of that, Anthony Georgiou has reached the point where we either use him or sell him (the same spot Josh Onomah and CCV are in, yet they're both in the first team while Georgiou remains in the U23s) and there's the issue of both Marcus Edwards and Samuel Shashoua being in the last year of their contracts
The stadium more than pays for itself and creates additional profits that can be invested in the squad. No need to repay the debt quickly at all. I expect it to be restructured over 15 years at the very least.
Just lifted from SSN Sky sources: Talks between Tottenham and Real Betis over the potential signing of midfielder Giovani Lo Celso are OFF after clubs fail to agree price. We are told Lo Celso - who has a release clause of £88m - wants to join Tottenham and that the north London club may go back in later in the window if they can sell Christian Eriksen So technically they're not off just postponed for the time being.
I've seen suggestions of a decent chunk of the debt being paid over the term of a domestic mortgage. The club's such a stable entity that lenders won't be hounding us to pay it off in a hurry and we're borrowing at a good time to be doing so. Getting the win in the planning appeal on The Goods Yard won't hurt. That's got to be worth £50m-£100m to us with other sites to follow. If we can tie up the stadium sponsorship, we're sitting pretty, no matter what we owe.
Both clubs paying hard ball is fine, it's the standard Levy dance. If Lo Celso really wants the move to Spurs and not a club throwing silly money around, and tells Betis just that, it puts a different spin on things. Up to the weekend Lyon were still putting threats out in the media. The right deals get done eventually and we actually have good money to spend. Argentina lost last night, so his attentions will be on where he plays next season. Unlike the Zaha/Arsenal situation, we have the money to buy at a more realistic price and would still expect us to do so.
Not completely surprised at the Lo Celso deal stalling. Was only a week or so ago I said that signing both him and Ndombele would result in a huge chunk of our budget being spent and likely resulting in no new RB and possibly other areas. If we’re looking to manage the finances to allow us to bring in multiple players, then a loan to buy for Ceballos makes the most sense for a new creative CM as that still leaves money for a RB, Sess Bros and a potential wide forward/ Nando replacement.
