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Spurs: Has Daniel Levy Messed Up Berahino Bids?

By Alexander Balano

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Signing Saido Berahino has taken a turn for the worst.

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A third bid doesn’t look possible anymore after Jeremy Peace, West Brom’s chairman, recently talked about the transfer negotiations between both clubs and Daniel Levy’s handling of the two bids he initially offered.

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There are two stances when viewing Spurs’ chairman when it comes to the club’s involvement — or lack thereof — in transfer windows. Either Daniel Levy is a cheap person or is smart with his money by not splurging around so recklessly.

“Our plans have always been based on Saido being part of our squad for the 2015-16 season.”

– Jeremy Peace, West Brom chairman

Do Spurs actually have money to spend even if they haven’t been in the Champions League except once in their entire club’s history?

Spurs have been able to lure talented players to join them after having some varying success in the Europa League these past few seasons. Adding in the new TV deals for the Premier League, and that explains why Spurs have signed new players.

But why haven’t they done so more often?

It strictly comes down to what Daniel Levy feels is right for him, but not necessarily right for his counterparts. More specifically, if a club’s initial value of a player is too high, Levy would start the bidding at a lower price, but there’s a catch. Jeremy Peace goes into great detail of how transfer negotiations went.

Quote from Jeremy Peace, West Bromwich Albion’s chairman:

“As I have made clear from the moment Tottenham lodged their first bid for Saido on August 18, selling our top goalscorer was never on our agenda this summer. Our plans have always been based on Saido being part of our squad for the 2015-16 season. But there are two other good reasons why he will not be sold. Firstly, had we ever entertained the notion of selling him we have not received an offer anywhere near attractive enough from Tottenham Hotspur. Not only have the offers been too low as a valuation of the player, but they have been based on stage-payments and add-ons over a long period which do nothing to reflect Saido’s ability and potential.”

Reading that quote, it’s not surprising given Daniel Levy’s penchant for playing hardball. But he typically does that with selling players. Signing players this summer has been smooth, especially when none of Spurs new signings weren’t valued that high by their former clubs after completing those deals.

Clinton N’Jie was bought for £12 million, Toby Alderweireld went for £11.5 million. For Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer, combined, they were around £8 million.

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In short, all four players would easily surpass West Brom’s value of £25 million for Saido Berahino. Individually, while clubs were at first hesitant to lose their players, the money received in return more than made up for it.

Perhaps Daniel Levy can learn something from this and change his negotiation tactics a bit when dealing with high priced players. For someone who’s around Saido Berahino’s range, if Spurs need a player of that caliber but the price is too high. Instead of sending a low-ball offer with add-ons making up the rest, why not offer a big bid with minimal add-ons tacked onto a deal first?

Obviously it’ll hurt Spurs in the short term especially if the player doesn’t do good, but that’s why you don’t sign them in the first place — even if you actually needed that player. Saido Berahino is what Spurs need, a backup striker who can play out wide. He’s not necessarily worth £25 million, but he won’t be sold for cheap.

It’s apparent that Daniel Levy is great at selling players and getting more money back that should even be possible. But when it comes to signing players who are expensive, he’s not so great at it — unless they’re cheap alternatives.

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