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Tottenham Has a Gentleman’s Agreement with West Bromwich Albion?

By Alexander Balano

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Mauricio Pochettino (R) Manager of Tottenham Hotspur is seen on arrival at the stadium prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on January 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Mauricio Pochettino (R) Manager of Tottenham Hotspur is seen on arrival at the stadium prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on January 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham have the right of first refusal to land West Brom striker Saido Berahino in the summer.

A summer saga involving Tottenham, West Brom and Saido Berahino, didn’t end well when the three parties couldn’t agree on a transfer for the 22-year-old striker. This past winter, talks didn’t re-commence so it seemed that Tottenham had finally moved on.

That is, until the Mirror (via Neil Moxley of the Sunday People), have reported that there has been a gentleman’s agreement between Spurs and Baggies’ chairmen, Daniel Levy and Jeremy Peace, to allow Tottenham right of first refusal to sign Berahino.

A gentleman’s agreement and getting a right of first refusal doesn’t mean much for Tottenham. As they would still end up paying a high price to sign a talented but questionable striker, with concerns over his behavior.

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On the other hand, a striker that Tottenham wanted — Fulham’s Moussa Dembélé — could be had for “free” with his contract expiring at the end of this season. Except, getting a 19-year-old striker who’s just as talented as Saido Berahino won’t be that easy.

Fulham isn’t that foolish to let one of their top players leave and not get anything in return. Whether the Cottagers gets a paltry £300,000 in compensation fees if Moussa Dembélé leaves for a team abroad or if Tottenham wants to offer £5 million.

At the end of the day, Spurs will still have to pay in order to get a good backup striker. Or one who could play alongside Harry Kane in a two-striker partnership up top. The main difference is how much they’d be willing to spend.

Money will be tight with Mauricio Pochettino acknowledging that Tottenham will have to cut back on their spending because they’ll be moving to their new stadium ahead of the 2018-19 season.

So who else could fill the void of bringing in more strikers aside from Nacer Chadli, Son Heung-min and Clinton N’Jie who are also viable options?

That would be youth academy players Shayon Harrison and Keziah Sterling, not to mention 17-year-old Shilow Tracey who was the only player to be signed this past winter.

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If for whatever reason that Moussa Dembélé and Saido Berahino aren’t signed this summer. And that Shayon Harrison, Keziah Sterling and Shilow Tracey are still a year or two — or more — away from making their first-team appearance.

Then Chadli, Son and N’Jie will have to make do.

Besides, with the injury to the Cameroon winger, Clinton N’Jie, has a lot to prove that Tottenham’s investment in him was well worth it. So for sure, it can be expected that N’Jie will be looking to make an impact this season and definitely next year.

As for Chadli and Son, the two of them will look to continue getting better and playing well consistently to help Tottenham this season.

Should Tottenham not get a striker for the second consecutive summer, it would look bad in the eyes of many supporters but there’s a good reason for Tottenham’s insistence on not adding more strikers to this position. One, it’s because of the aforementioned names above. Ones who are on the current squad: Chadli, Son and N’Jie. And kids in the youth academy: Harrison, Sterling and soon-to-be Tracey.

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Plus, perhaps this whole time, Mauricio Pochettino felt that Tottenham didn’t actually need a striker. Instead, they simply wanted one. It might sound crazy to actually believe that statement, but then again if a striker was needed — which everyone can see because they’re bracing for the worst possible outcome for Harry Kane.

Then it would have been obvious that someone should have been signed before the season started after Tottenham sold Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado without signing another out-and-out striker as cover and/or backup.