The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - POST MORTEM - 1st February 2022

[DenverSpur]

It's not about not having the money. They have these profit figures because they don't make purchases like this. Absolutely zero chance. Can still see them bidding a lower amount but they aren't a club that splurge in ways that are incongruous with their business model.

Plus everyone knows we're desperate to sell and there isn't a huge market for him. We might even take 20 million for him by the end of the summer window.

Don’t we still owe them money from the original transfer. If so that would be deducted from any fee they had to pay.

 

[DenverSpur]

I can’t believe how negative so many people are:
“ Should have bought a striker ‘cos If Kane gets injured we’ll not get top 4”
“ we’ve only kicked the can down the road NDombele and Lo Celso will be back here in 6 months”
“If we don’t get top 4 then this window has been a failure”
”It’s a bad window because we didn’t get a RWB and LCB which the ITKs said were our priority “
“We should have bought more players in this window because in the summer the other clubs will have more money than us and we won’t be able to compete with them”
Etc, etc, etc

For god sakes chill out guys.

January is a difficult window because clubs involved in European places or relegation don’t want to sell their better players.
In this window we signed Lloris up for 2 more years . A huge boost which also saves the mint it would have cost us in the summer to replace him and that’s not counting the loss of his influence and leadership in the dressing room.
By getting rid of NDembele, Lo Celso and Dele(sad to see him go as he was a major cog in the successes of the Poch years) we’ve helped Conte lay down a marker to the squad; “it’s my way or the Highway”. The 2 on loan will not be returning.
We got two experienced players used to playing at a high level who will fit in well to how Conte wants us to play. As the 3(4) we let go didn’t feature much the match day squad has grown by 2.

Top 4 is in our hands. If we win all our games in hand we go 3rd 1 point ahead of Chelsea. Not saying we will but since Conte arrived only City have a better record. We have the impetus whilst Arsenal can’t win or even score a goal, WHU are treading water and have to start juggling European games as well and ManU have problems to put it mildly (although they still have a squad full of match winners)None of those teams added players in the window but we did and I believe they will improve us.
I would give this window a 7/10

What happens in the summer has no bearing on the next 4 months. Conte will give it his all and demand the same of the squad and then he and FP will decide what they need to take the next step to get us back up competing with the big boys. More players will leave and better or more suited players will come in.

A bit of patience is needed. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

My only reservation is I’d like to see FP spread his net a little wider than Italy a bit more.

 

[carpediem1906]

2 big reasons why it was a good transfer window

1) lay down the marker - get on the conte train or eff off (now!)

Buying in to this sort of environment and culture will breed hunger and desire for progress and success.

which is why HUGO signed his new deal (not mentioned enough), and Kane (by most accounts) is happy to stay. They bought in!

top performers want top performing environments and culture.

so getting rid of the 3 who didn’t buy in immediately is monumental. especially when we know we have a poor track record of shifting deadwood, shifting 3 in one window, almost unheard of.

2) yes we did not get RWB nor back up CB or striker. BUT!!!

(a) Doherty only played there twice and seemed to have satisfied wat conte wants and more importantly, as suspected by many n now been confirmed by JJ, numero uno target for rwb been identified for summer after Adama deemed not ideal for role. So Doherty suffices for 18 league n 4-6 cup games.

(b) back up cb - Romero is back from injury and we now have 6 CBs for 3 starting positions. Romero Dier Davies first choice, with Tanganga Sanchez to come rotate is good enough to end season, barring injuries

(c) we thought Stevie would go, and Conte made it clear (through both words and action) that Stevie is able to play #9, and he did well there the 2 times.

With Bentacur, we have a more progressive CM and can rotate with when PEH or Skipp aren’t having the best of games. Winks will also benefit from competition.

So whether we go 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, we have Sonny Kulu Lucas n Bergwijn to compete for 1/2 spots and still have options on the bench to bring on if the starter isn’t performing by the 70th min.

Our first eleven n reserves looks like this - tell me this isn’t a massive upgrade compared to our games against Chelsea.

Starting
Hugo Romero Dier Davies Doherty Skipp PEH Bentacur Reguilon Kane Son

Bench
Gollini Sanchez Tanganga Winks Kulu Lucas Bergwijn

… or suggests that Paratici is in charge of transfers. ?

Prof on COYS:



He’s right. First and second choices in fact. Unfortunately one of them is at a club that is not eager to do business with us due to past dealings with DL.

one more thing I forgot to mention, which is a huge paradigm seismic shift in our transfer activity - we have shown clubs that FP is now the man in charge and other than the fact that we have had contact with clubs all over Europe, FP has shown he is much more amenable to negotiations.

4 cases in point - Dele + Juventus + Barca + loans

Levy (given his track record) would never have sanctioned Dele’s move on an initial free. We helped Everton get their deal and circumvented FFP.

Juventus needed to balance their books to cover Vlahovic’s purchase, FP saw an opportunity and went for some their players and in all honesty, got us 2 very good deals.

Barca needed rid of players and we took on board Royal last summer and was open to Dembele this winter transfer window.

Our youth players + Gil Tanguy n GLC got loans that was a win-win-win for player n the 2 clubs > the 3 players above got to go to teams that they wanted to play for, and they were doable deals for the receiving clubs in terms of fees, wages and options.

Clubs will learn about this willingness and ability to negotiate win-win’s from the past 2 windows and realise that dealing with Spurs moving forward will not be “more painful than a hip replacement surgery” (Alex Ferguson on Levy).

Maybe this portends a better buy-sell relationship with not just the top clubs in Europe, but also with the other top 6 clubs in England - when was the last time we bought or sold players to these clubs? (Before someone comments that nobody sells to rivals, here are some rare but validexamples - Sterling, Matic, Lukaku, Ox, and the Leicester ones)

 

[Hakkz]

I'm suprised by the negativity, I actually think it was a pretty solid window....maybe pushing a 7/10.

A few things that amuse me

1. The bemoaning of Bentancur and Kulusevski as 'cast offs'. Firstly, it s Juve we are talking here not Genoa, so lets pull our head in a little. Secondly Bentancur has approx 7,500 minutes, 113 appearences and 86 starts over the last 3.5 seasons whilst Kulu is 21.....21 and played just under 2,000 minutes last season with 35 appearances.....FOR JUVENTUS!!
These are not players frozen out like our bunch they have been regular contributors for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

2. 'Diaz will be a star and Kulusevski is average'.......haha based on what? Is it the money? If Kulu was 60mil and Diaz 20 would opinions switch?
Now I'm not saying one is better than the other or vice versa, or that one will succeed and the other wont but what I am saying is either could go either way.....could be a Fernandes, could be a Van De Beek.
Diaz has had a great 6 months but if you went back to just the summer and asked people if they want a 24 year old Diaz whjo has only played in Columbia and Portugal and had 16 starts for Porto or a 20yr old Kulusevski who has had 3 seasons in Serie A and started 19 games as part of 35 appearences for Juventus....I think most would go Kulu.

3. 'If we scrape top 4' or 'we'll be lucky for top 4'. Pleeease, we are right in it. In fact considering we are 2 points behind United with 2 games in hand and we had more points then all bar City since Conte took charge as well as adding depth and clearing out distractions....I'd say we are the slight favourite of the chasing pack.

All in all cheer up ya dreary miserable bunch, things aint so bad

Great post. Especially 2.

 

[nedley]

There’s no way we bring 7-8 new players in one window.

I agree.

Which is why I'm disappointed we didn't sign one or two others in Jan.

 

[whitechina]

I think many have missed the most important signing this winter- HUGO!
A massive positive and one a sign things are moving in the right direction.

 

[whitechina]

There’s no way we bring 7-8 new players in one window.

But it would be bloody good fun if it were to happen

 

[Derryank]

Great window in my opinion.

AC was brought here for this very reason. The outs were without question his decision, as were the in's, or lack thereof.

Excited to see what this hungry, hard working and committed group of professional players can achieve without unnecessary distractions (TikTok, tantrums, bling videos and so forth).

Prediction....4th spot

 

[1882andallthat]

I can’t believe how negative so many people are:
“ Should have bought a striker ‘cos If Kane gets injured we’ll not get top 4”
“ we’ve only kicked the can down the road NDombele and Lo Celso will be back here in 6 months”
“If we don’t get top 4 then this window has been a failure”
”It’s a bad window because we didn’t get a RWB and LCB which the ITKs said were our priority “
“We should have bought more players in this window because in the summer the other clubs will have more money than us and we won’t be able to compete with them”
Etc, etc, etc

For god sakes chill out guys.

January is a difficult window because clubs involved in European places or relegation don’t want to sell their better players.
In this window we signed Lloris up for 2 more years . A huge boost which also saves the mint it would have cost us in the summer to replace him and that’s not counting the loss of his influence and leadership in the dressing room.
By getting rid of NDembele, Lo Celso and Dele(sad to see him go as he was a major cog in the successes of the Poch years) we’ve helped Conte lay down a marker to the squad; “it’s my way or the Highway”. The 2 on loan will not be returning.
We got two experienced players used to playing at a high level who will fit in well to how Conte wants us to play. As the 3(4) we let go didn’t feature much the match day squad has grown by 2.

Top 4 is in our hands. If we win all our games in hand we go 3rd 1 point ahead of Chelsea. Not saying we will but since Conte arrived only City have a better record. We have the impetus whilst Arsenal can’t win or even score a goal, WHU are treading water and have to start juggling European games as well and ManU have problems to put it mildly (although they still have a squad full of match winners)None of those teams added players in the window but we did and I believe they will improve us.
I would give this window a 7/10

What happens in the summer has no bearing on the next 4 months. Conte will give it his all and demand the same of the squad and then he and FP will decide what they need to take the next step to get us back up competing with the big boys. More players will leave and better or more suited players will come in.

A bit of patience is needed. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

My only reservation is I’d like to see FP spread his net a little wider than Italy a bit more.

Whilst I agree with a lot of what you have said a bit of context needs to be added.
Yes we need to be patient and it was a decent start in the transfer window, not bad, not below average but a below a good, in my opinion what people mean by the kicking the can down the road phrase is, we don't know for sure whether Ndombele and Lo Celso will be back, it depends on how they perform for their loaned clubs, if they underperform the problem of shifting them will return to us and may hinder our summer buys until they are are shifted permanently or more longer term. We did what we could with them as understandably there were no serious and permanent takers so that's the context of the can down the road phrase.

Additionally whilst you correctly say that that what happens in the summer has no bearing on the next for months, what happens in the next four months most definitely does have a bearing on what we might be able to do in the summer. Finish outside the top 4 and couple that with two of aforementioned players loaned out underperforming and we really do have a big problem in the summer in the quality of potential acqusitions we might secure.

I definitely agree with you that FP needs to start casting his net wider than what his current comfort zone is in Italy to prove his worth so let's see how that pans out.

We've shaken things up a bit this window and have given ourself a chance of top 4 and only time will tell in the next 4 months if we've left ourself one or two short in acquisitions this window so as you say let's see how it goes, for what it's worth I'm not negative over our chances and what we've done and at the same time I'm not overly optimistic on this transfer gamble we've made including securing top 4. I'd put myself in the camp of being quietly optimistic based on the changes we've made, including securing top 4.

 

[JJetset]

The story about Diaz in the Athletic today is bang on disappointingly

 

[Trix]

I know I said I'd post my window synopsis yesterday, but to be honest I was both waiting to see what the general mood was as well as bits still being drip fed out regarding what happened on Monday. I thought it best to wait until the dust settled in order to give more comprehensive view, and so here we are. I'm glad to see how many of you are looking at the window as having both positives and negatives(which is exactly what it was), even some of you that were so incredibly pessimistic throughout @Aphex .

It was exactly that tbh, many issues addressed but many others still to do. Diaz in the end was the only big strike and miss, and saying that if that see's the end of us dealing with a certain super agent it will ultimately be a big plus imo. It's one thing being gazumped(all's fair etc), but we believe there was more to it than that, with Liverpool knowing exactly what we had offered, the entire package to both club and player, and things were just all a bit to convenient.

Dembele there was never any interest in.
Eriksen was briefly looked at but not a risk worth taking
Traore as JJ has already alluded to, we definitely wanted but was never seen as ideal for the long term. We would have done it but only really on our terms.

DK has been high on the list for months. He was linked by Italian media prior to the window even being open. Obviously Diaz became the focus when we believed we could get him because if a player of that quality is available you have to try, right. Doesn't mean for one minute we hadn't had a plan in place all along and that DK wasn't part of that plan.

Bentancur I'm still not 100% sure on how long we've been interested and maybe that'll come out in the next couple of weeks if it was always part of the plan or was opportunistic once Vlahovic moved to Juve and they needed money in to help pay for it.

For those saying there was no plan in place...............

Nothing is ever set in stone and things are fluidly changing all the time, sometimes by the time it's been posted on here it's done a complete 180 and back again. Depending on where the info has come from there may well be agenda and or opinion attached, which can skew things. Personally I try and say if I believe this to be the case and depending on the source sometimes that's easier to do than at other times. I generally say when it's come from an agent(but sometimes agents are better placed than even Levy would be depending on the player involved). Or it's from someone I know at the club and has been there for years. So with that in mind I'll try again, and probably for the last time. As I say take it for what it is which is info that has been passed on in good faith and at the time of hearing was as it was.

There are no lines to read between, and no fucking smokescreens!!!
..................................................................................................................................

Doc, TN, Dele, Rodon, Davinson, Bergwijn are all deemed surplus. There are others we'd accept offers for but they'd have to be above what we consider their value to be. Conte wants 3 in in January, and 3 more in the Summer. It wouldn't be a deal breaker if we only got a couple in now but 6 was what they agreed to be realistic and necessary over the next couple of windows. The priority right now is for a CB that can play left and center a RWB and an attacking option. I know there will be a plethora of you out there with the opinion that other positions are more important, but Conte would like these first, and it has to be done his way now. As I say things are fluid and if the right player became available in another position we would of course look to bring them in as well.

As I posted yesterday It's always been about being in the right place for the start of next season. This next few months are effectively a huge pre season where the players are to learn their new roles and ethos of how the manager wants to play. He wants to first be solid defensively, it's his main priority and the hardest part of his system to get across to the players as it's usually a different system to anything they've played before. From what I was told he feels it's for easier for a good AM to slot into any system and find runners, than it is for CB's or WB's to understand how he wants them to play during different phases of play. That's why he wants to get that side of things established and in place first. Like I say should the right AM become available we'd not turn our noses up but it's not the priority as of right now.

Conte knew exactly what he was getting into when he came in, nothing at all has changed FP has been working on things and I expect us to get at least two and probably the 3 Conte wants this month. I certainly wouldn't rule out more than that if we can get players moved on which again is down to FP now. January as we all know is always difficult but I think FP with all his contacts will find it easier than we've found it in the past.

You need to give it time folks because one things for sure we won't get a better chance than we do with Conte, and anything we can get from this season is a bonus.

This was the plan I was told prior to the window opening and posted at the beginning of the window. Besides a couple of the personnel AC wanted out changing due to performances. Dav and Stevie being the main ones. It went almost exactly to plan.
As far as GLC.......AC wants players who want to play want to listen and want to work to achieve his goals. What he doesn't want is players who when they are told they aren't in the team to just basically shrug their shoulders and walk off after the meeting all happy and jovial. That was what I'm told made his mind up regarding GLC. If you are just told you aren't in the side you should want to know why, and what you can do to be selected. Not planning what you are doing with your weekend off in front of the coaching staff.


Apart from that things happened exactly as expected, and we are set nicely for what happens in the Summer which was always the primary goal. I'm told we already know who we want and the next few months will be spent working towards achieving that. Those saying we are kicking the can down the road with TN and GLC maybe so but we've seen numerous times now how clubs are forced to just release players for free to shift them, this is bad for so many reasons, and it's only to be done as a last resort. If we can't sell them we loan them hope they perform and we can shift them in the future. Will we get 65 mil for TN in the Summer? Very doubtful, but if he does well the hope is Lyon may come back and say he's not worth that but for example 30-40mil looks like a win for them when the deal originally was for much higher.

Just want to say again thanks to @Rob, @Archibald&Crooks, and especially this window to @Stoof and @chrissivad for policing the ITK thread through the last couple of days. I think it's shown beyond doubt the lax approach in regards rules that many posters were asking for was a disaster, and the way A&C has been doing it for years is a clearly a necessity if we want it to continue.

 

[Tucker]

What they said in the Athletic:

“The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. The deal was believed to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons, with terms also agreed with Diaz himself.

However, Diaz being away on international duty meant that the agreement wasn’t yet signed by the time it was essentially thought to have been vetoed by his Colombian agent. The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move. Liverpool, who were not using Mendes as an intermediary, pounced and agreed a deal at more or less the same price. The Athletic has contacted the Colombian agent for comment.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who did everything he could to pull off the deal, was raging at the turn of events. Diaz had been enthusiastic at the prospect of joining Spurs, and some believe it would have been a better move for him given the stage of his career, but ultimately, he too was seduced by the prospect of Champions League football and working with Jurgen Klopp. Sources have indicated that Barcelona were also in for the winger and prepared to pay €5 million (£4.2 million) upfront followed by €50 million (£41.8 million) in the summer.”

 

[Snarfalicious]

The story about Diaz in the Athletic today is bang on disappointingly

Not sure if everything else checks out but felt it was a wonderful summary of the window.

 

[cider spurs]

I was reasonably happy with the window. Pleased about the cull, it had to be done.

As for the incomings, both come having impressed before, but for whatever reason, it's said they've lost their way in recent times.

I for one will bide my time before judging, as opposed to taking as gospel, the views offered up by some of the Juventus fans forums.

I have a sneaky suspicion that we've actually recruited a couple of decent talents.

More work to do in summer, but the rebuild is underway.

 

[GutBucket]

Thanks for sharing everyone, honestly not that upset with Diaz, although I love players with pace and flair. Hope he does a Jackson Martinez and flops but Klopp will probably turn him into a world class player. Also happy that we didn't go for Dembele. Need to become CL regulars to keep getting our A targets, good luck passing on info until then with all the changes of the plans and the way Paratici cooks.

 

[McFlash]

I know I said I'd post my window synopsis yesterday, but to be honest I was both waiting to see what the general mood was as well as bits still being drip fed out regarding what happened on Monday. I thought it best to wait until the dust settled in order to give more comprehensive view, and so here we are. I'm glad to see how many of you are looking at the window as having both positives and negatives(which is exactly what it was), even some of you that were so incredibly pessimistic throughout @Aphex .

It was exactly that tbh, many issues addressed but many others still to do. Diaz in the end was the only big strike and miss, and saying that if that see's the end of us dealing with a certain super agent it will ultimately be a big plus imo. It's one thing being gazumped(all's fair etc), but we believe there was more to it than that, with Liverpool knowing exactly what we had offered, the entire package to both club and player, and things were just all a bit to convenient.

Dembele there was never any interest in.
Eriksen was briefly looked at but not a risk worth taking
Traore as JJ has already alluded to, we definitely wanted but was never seen as ideal for the long term. We would have done it but only really on our terms.

DK has been high on the list for months. He was linked by Italian media prior to the window even being open. Obviously Diaz became the focus when we believed we could get him because if a player of that quality is available you have to try, right. Doesn't mean for one minute we hadn't had a plan in place all along and that DK wasn't part of that plan.

Bentancur I'm still not 100% sure on how long we've been interested and maybe that'll come out in the next couple of weeks if it was always part of the plan or was opportunistic once Vlahovic moved to Juve and they needed money in to help pay for it.

For those saying there was no plan in place...............


This was the plan I was told prior to the window opening and posted at the beginning of the window. Besides a couple of the personnel AC wanted out changing due to performances. Dav and Stevie being the main ones. It went almost exactly to plan.
As far as GLC.......AC wants players who want to play want to listen and want to work to achieve his goals. What he doesn't want is players who when they are told they aren't in the team to just basically shrug their shoulders and walk off after the meeting all happy and jovial. That was what I'm told made his mind up regarding GLC. If you are just told you aren't in the side you should want to know why, and what you can do to be selected. Not planning what you are doing with your weekend off in front of the coaching staff.


Apart from that things happened exactly as expected, and we are set nicely for what happens in the Summer which was always the primary goal. I'm told we already know who we want and the next few months will be spent working towards achieving that. Those saying we are kicking the can down the road with TN and GLC maybe so but we've seen numerous times now how clubs are forced to just release players for free to shift them, this is bad for so many reasons, and it's only to be done as a last resort. If we can't sell them we loan them hope they perform and we can shift them in the future. Will we get 65 mil for TN in the Summer? Very doubtful, but if he does well the hope is Lyon may come back and say he's not worth that but for example 30-40mil looks like a win for them when the deal originally was for much higher.

Just want to say again thanks to @Rob, @Archibald&Crooks, and especially this window to @Stoof and @chrissivad for policing the ITK thread through the last couple of days. I think it's shown beyond doubt the lax approach in regards rules that many posters were asking for was a disaster, and the way A&C has been doing it for years is a clearly a necessity if we want it to continue.

Good stuff mate and thanks for riding out the tsunami of nagativity that threatened to drown us all at one stage. ?

 

[carpediem1906]

I know I said I'd post my window synopsis yesterday, but to be honest I was both waiting to see what the general mood was as well as bits still being drip fed out regarding what happened on Monday. I thought it best to wait until the dust settled in order to give more comprehensive view, and so here we are. I'm glad to see how many of you are looking at the window as having both positives and negatives(which is exactly what it was), even some of you that were so incredibly pessimistic throughout @Aphex .

It was exactly that tbh, many issues addressed but many others still to do. Diaz in the end was the only big strike and miss, and saying that if that see's the end of us dealing with a certain super agent it will ultimately be a big plus imo. It's one thing being gazumped(all's fair etc), but we believe there was more to it than that, with Liverpool knowing exactly what we had offered, the entire package to both club and player, and things were just all a bit to convenient.

Dembele there was never any interest in.
Eriksen was briefly looked at but not a risk worth taking
Traore as JJ has already alluded to, we definitely wanted but was never seen as ideal for the long term. We would have done it but only really on our terms.

DK has been high on the list for months. He was linked by Italian media prior to the window even being open. Obviously Diaz became the focus when we believed we could get him because if a player of that quality is available you have to try, right. Doesn't mean for one minute we hadn't had a plan in place all along and that DK wasn't part of that plan.

Bentancur I'm still not 100% sure on how long we've been interested and maybe that'll come out in the next couple of weeks if it was always part of the plan or was opportunistic once Vlahovic moved to Juve and they needed money in to help pay for it.

For those saying there was no plan in place...............


This was the plan I was told prior to the window opening and posted at the beginning of the window. Besides a couple of the personnel AC wanted out changing due to performances. Dav and Stevie being the main ones. It went almost exactly to plan.
As far as GLC.......AC wants players who want to play want to listen and want to work to achieve his goals. What he doesn't want is players who when they are told they aren't in the team to just basically shrug their shoulders and walk off after the meeting all happy and jovial. That was what I'm told made his mind up regarding GLC. If you are just told you aren't in the side you should want to know why, and what you can do to be selected. Not planning what you are doing with your weekend off in front of the coaching staff.


Apart from that things happened exactly as expected, and we are set nicely for what happens in the Summer which was always the primary goal. I'm told we already know who we want and the next few months will be spent working towards achieving that. Those saying we are kicking the can down the road with TN and GLC maybe so but we've seen numerous times now how clubs are forced to just release players for free to shift them, this is bad for so many reasons, and it's only to be done as a last resort. If we can't sell them we loan them hope they perform and we can shift them in the future. Will we get 65 mil for TN in the Summer? Very doubtful, but if he does well the hope is Lyon may come back and say he's not worth that but for example 30-40mil looks like a win for them when the deal originally was for much higher.

Just want to say again thanks to @Rob, @Archibald&Crooks, and especially this window to @Stoof and @chrissivad for policing the ITK thread through the last couple of days. I think it's shown beyond doubt the lax approach in regards rules that many posters were asking for was a disaster, and the way A&C has been doing it for years is a clearly a necessity if we want it to continue.

Wanted to Winner, Like and Informative this post, thanks for sticking through, staying on and sharing Trix.

You missed one bit that if I rem correctly was posted by you, where the initial priority shifted away from CB towards CM and it’s reflected in your Davinson mention as well as us eventually signing Bentacur.

As for policing the forum, I observed from afar and enjoyed the reflection of wider society (especially over the past 2 years in covid times) that it’s a very delicate balance between free for all and authoritative control, and the impact and consequences of such governance.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there will always be a wide spectrum of individuals with their emotions, quirks and minds that makes for a (functioning) society.

 

[spursfan77]

The story about Diaz in the Athletic today is bang on disappointingly

Bloody Mendes

Here's the article for non subscribers. The whole article is comprehensive of our window and probably worth its own thread somewhere, but this is the Diaz bits in a spoiler for scrolling ease.

Spoiler

Tottenham’s transfer window: Signed agreement for Diaz, interest in Dembele and jury out on Paratici​

And so after 31 often excruciating days, the January transfer window has come to an end.

For Tottenham, it finishes with two signings and four senior players leaving, three of whom did so on loan. But behind those numbers were a range of sub-plots, internal machinations and near-misses.

The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athleticcan reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. The deal was believed to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons, with terms also agreed with Diaz himself.

However, Diaz being away on international duty meant that the agreement wasn’t yet signed by the time it was essentially thought to have been vetoed by his Colombian agent. The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move. Liverpool, who were not using Mendes as an intermediary, pounced and agreed a deal at more or less the same price. The Athletic has contacted the Colombian agent for comment.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who did everything he could to pull off the deal, was raging at the turn of events. Diaz had been enthusiastic at the prospect of joining Spurs, and some believe it would have been a better move for him given the stage of his career, but ultimately, he too was seduced by the prospect of Champions League football and working with Jurgen Klopp. Sources have indicated that Barcelona were also in for the winger and prepared to pay €5 million (£4.2 million) upfront followed by €50 million (£41.8 million) in the summer.

How close Spurs came to such a sensational deal is how many will remember the window just gone — and plenty more on the Diaz situation later — but there were many other issues at play for Tottenham as well.

To the club’s immense frustration it emerged publicly last Tuesday that they had made a €45 million (£37.6 million) bid for Porto winger Luis Diaz. This was a deal Levy was far more invested in making happen.

And he very nearly pulled it off. By Thursday morning, there was increasing confidence a deal could be done, with Porto agreeing to the move in writing, and Diaz doing so in principle.

But this was the point at which Diaz’s agent intervened. Porto, who needed the money, were very wary of the deal being scuppered and so welcomed Liverpool’s interest. Liverpool meanwhile were delighted that Spurs had effectively negotiated the price down to a fee they were willing to pay, having baulked at Diaz’s €80 million (£66.8 million) release clause earlier in the window. One of Liverpool’s scouts in South America informed Diaz’s agent that they wanted to do the deal. Liverpool’s owners were convinced by assistant sporting director Julian Ward and his current boss — and soon to be predecessor — Michael Edwards to sign it off.

Diaz was still understood to have been keen on a move to Spurs but was excited to join up with Liverpool, and the deal was agreed.

Levy was left so furious that the cordial relations he has enjoyed with Liverpool’s owners may have been seriously damaged. Some sources close to the situation believe it could lead to a period of hostility between the two clubs.

Paratici, who was home in Italy for the final week of the window, is said to have been crushed by the disappointment of Spurs missing out on such a significant deal. He is known for being extremely resilient and simply pushing on after missing out on a major target as if nothing has happened. On this occasion, he hunkered down and resolved to rescue Spurs’ window, which as of Friday, January 28 and in the wake of Liverpool’s gazumping, looked nothing short of disastrous.

 

[spursfan77]

What they said in the Athletic:

“The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. The deal was believed to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons, with terms also agreed with Diaz himself.

However, Diaz being away on international duty meant that the agreement wasn’t yet signed by the time it was essentially thought to have been vetoed by his Colombian agent. The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move. Liverpool, who were not using Mendes as an intermediary, pounced and agreed a deal at more or less the same price. The Athletic has contacted the Colombian agent for comment.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who did everything he could to pull off the deal, was raging at the turn of events. Diaz had been enthusiastic at the prospect of joining Spurs, and some believe it would have been a better move for him given the stage of his career, but ultimately, he too was seduced by the prospect of Champions League football and working with Jurgen Klopp. Sources have indicated that Barcelona were also in for the winger and prepared to pay €5 million (£4.2 million) upfront followed by €50 million (£41.8 million) in the summer.”

I haven't read the whole article yet but there's a bit more on Diaz in it I have just posted. The article is huge and I haven't read it yet. Aggregators are going to have a field day twisting the negatives out of it. Might be a day to avoid Twitter!

 

[Wsussexspur]

Reading the various newspaper review of our transfer window activity is very uncomfortable! Not seen one positive report of it.

Contes reaction will be very interesting to gauge in his press conference. He isn’t exactly one to hold back if he isn’t satisfied.