Tottenham are about to seal their third transfer of the summer and their former chairman has found himself caught up in the conversation
Tottenham are set to sign Jan Paul van Hecke for a hefty fee but claims that former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has scoffed at the deal are probably not going to have the intended effect.
Let’s say it straight from the outset. To pay £52million plus a reported 20 per cent sell-on clause for a player with just 12 months left on his contract is certainly not the deal of the century for Spurs at this point in time. It’s potentially a very good deal for Brighton and it’s the kind of deal that Levy would never have entertained during his 24 years at the club. But that does not mean it’s the wrong thing to do.
Levy has found himself wrapped up in the discussion around Van Hecke thanks to his relationship with former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. The two men are polar opposites when it comes to the media. Levy is someone who prefers to operate in the background while making the foreground decisions, while Jordan has found a home for his outspoken opinions as a radio pundit.
During an appearance on eSPORTY on Wednesday, his fellow studio guest and former England goalkeeper Ben Foster revealed that Jordan had just received a message from Levy on his phone.
“I was showing him a fact about the Brighton deal and how Brighton have pulled Spurs’ pants down on a player who was out of contract in a year’s time, that didn’t want to sign a new contract and was the fifth most expensive soon-to-be-non-contract player that has ever been signed,” said the former Palace chief eventually. “That is what Daniel was pointing out to some extent.”
Whether Levy will be that bothered at finding himself in the headlines again remains to be seen. He would always claim that he had a thick skin and was not affected by criticism, even if those around him would suggest it bothered him more than he let on.
In this instance, Tottenham fans will mostly be thinking the same thing in hearing the claim that Levy disapproved of the club, which he still – for now – owns a portion of, spending far over the market value for a player so close to the end of this contract.
That’s because in Levy’s time, Spurs would normally have haggled for a while and then stepped away until long into the transfer window to see whether Brighton got twitchy and eventually gave in for a more fitting figure.
That was usually Tottenham’s tactic and clubs could see it coming from a mile away. The end result was often, at best, that Spurs would sign the player but it would not be until well into pre-season when all the key adaptation work with the new coach was done. At worst, the north London club would hold off for so long that either another club would come in and snatch them away or the player would sign a new contract.
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There have been such stories across the last quarter century at Tottenham, perhaps none more ridiculous than the pursuit of Jack Grealish during his Aston Villa days. The midfielder believed he was joining Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino believed his top target was joining Spurs, only the Lilywhites never actually offered what Villa wanted for months.
When they finally did, the West Midlands club’s financial problems had been solved by an injection of cash from new investors and they promptly offered Grealish a new contract which he signed. A couple of summers on and he would join Manchester City for £100million.
That in its essence is the issue with scoffing at paying over the odds for a player. Spurs spent so long being determined not to do that, that they never really speculated to accumulate. Their previously rigid wage structure, with everything loaded into performance-related bonuses, was there to be safe.
For a club with the motto of ‘to dare is to do’, Tottenham have been the epitome of safe and unspectacular in recent decades, only rising briefly under Pochettino, as he punched well above the club’s weight, and with Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League victory, which came through upsetting the board by prioritising the competition and costing him his job.
That’s not to say Levy didn’t waste money. Almost £120million was spent on Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso alone in the summer of 2019. Half a decade later, the former would have his contract mutually ended and the latter left for a nominal fee back to Real Betis, the club Spurs signed him from. Neither, it should be pointed out, were Pochettino’s top picks that summer.
It’s also worth noting that eventually Levy had his ‘pants pulled down’ by Brighton back in 2022. Yves Bissouma only had 12 months remaining on his contract but Spurs paid a total package of £35million including add-ons for the midfielder and they did so uncharacteristically quickly, the deal wrapped up on June 17.
Four years on and Tottenham have just announced that the Mali international will depart at the end of this month for nothing, after they decided not to take up the final year option on his contract. Bissouma played just 90 Premier League games for Tottenham, with inconsistency, issues off the pitch and a string of head coaches left frustrated by him.
Levy may well nod towards getting almost £100million for Harry Kane in the final 12 months of his contract at Spurs but Bayern Munich and the England captain were the only winners in that scenario as the years since have proved.
And that’s exactly the point. Sometimes you’ve just got to go for it for the greater good.
Roberto De Zerbi made it clear that he wanted Van Hecke and Spurs just went out and did it. The season ahead and those beyond will prove whether it was worth paying over the odds for the Dutchman. With the lid finally crowbarred off the top of the wage structure, they also saw off competition to sign Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi straight out of the gates, meaning they will have three new signings through the door in the middle of June.
That’s unheard of at a club where many a manager has been left frustrated as the window drags on and the season draws closer and then begins and what they ended up getting was not even what they originally wanted.
Postecoglou said a couple of years ago: “I don’t think we are in a position to spend £100million on a player, if that is what you are suggesting. That is not the case and I don’t think it will ever be the case for the club. Our competitors are, irrespective of the positions.”
That was before Levy’s departure and now Spurs are being linked with a bid for Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali which would likely reach £100million with all add-ons included. That’s alongside attempts to sign £60million-rated Savinho from Manchester City, who are also said to be interested in Tonali.
Again it could all be a huge mistake but at least Tottenham will know. They never really dared and they never really did when it came to on-pitch matters during Levy’s era. It was all so safe and frustrating.
The alternative could be worse, but it could also kick off the era of something special, something better. Sometimes you’ve just got to grab for it yourself, rather than simply hope everyone around you falls flat on their face and leaves you as the last club standing.
