Well, take this rumor with the (admittedly huge) caveat that it’s from the Daily Mail. The Mail’s Craig Hope is reporting that Spurs now have two transfer offers for Sandro Tonali which have been rejected by Newcastle United. The kicker? Both bids were at the same price – £75 million. Newcastle are said to be demanding £100million to let Tonali leave.
Now – a reminder, this is coming from the Daily Mail. We don’t usually put much stock in Mail rumors for good reasons, but the transfer window is open and sometimes our standards in that regard… relax on that front here at Carty Free Towers.
So – and hear me out here – let’s take this rumor at face value for now. It’s objectively ridiculous that Tottenham apparently submitted a bid that, if it was rejected, came back. offer exactly the same bid And it was rejected again. It reminds me somewhat of what Daniel Levy used to do, or at least what we pretended Daniel Levy used to do in transfer negotiations before he was cannonballed by the Lewes kids.
Levy: How about £75 million?
Club: No.
Levi: Okay, I understand and respect that. But have you considered… £75 million?
Club: Go away.
Now, I have said before, and I stand by this opinion, that there is no way on God’s green earth that Sandro Tonali is worth £100 million. He is a good player. He will be our best midfielder by some distance. But he’s an upgrade on the midfielder profile we already have, and despite Roberto De Zerbi really liking him I don’t think the opportunity cost is there to make that kind of outlay on him.
This story tells me that Tottenham don’t think this kind of opportunity cost exists, and that’s a good sign. Perhaps this means we turn to other goals (or Adam Wharton) and move beyond tonality. This would be a good result for me too, as spending £75 million on Wharton would be a more impactful signing in my opinion. But thats just my opinion.
Again, this is a Daily Mail rumor. But I wonder if this will be confirmed by other more reliable sources in the coming hours. If this is confirmed, it’s a strangely positive and even objectively hilarious situation. And ultimately this could result in Spurs failing to find a midfielder who is a better fit.
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