Marseille Have Until July 5th to Sell Tottenham Target

Tottenham have not in fact submitted a bid for Michy Batshuayi. As it stands, only West Ham and Juventus are the only two clubs who have shown their interest by tabling offers.

It’s been “reported” — albeit briefly — by Italian Football Daily that Tottenham have submitted a €35 million (£28.4 million) bid for the services of Michy Batshuayi just before Olympique Marseille must balance their books out on July 5th.

It’s a new date that seems to have given the Ligue 1 side more time, by having 10 extra days as opposed to selling by the end of June to coincide with France’s summer transfer window closing.

The article up top doesn’t say much, with regards to Tottenham suddenly matching West Ham’s offer. Nor does it have an actual link to a (credible) source(s) where Spurs sent an offer of €35 million.

Though at the same time, both Premier League clubs have plenty of money to spend because of the new TV deal that will kick in this season.

With Tottenham securing Champions League football and finishing third, it saw the Lilywhites earn £95.222 million after a successful season last year.

When you include the £150 million that Daniel Levy has given Mauricio Pochettino, according to the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST), it’s not inconceivable that Tottenham could easily buy Batshuayi right now and end this transfer saga.

But spending all of that money for only one striker instead of two, which would serve Spurs much better in the long run, seems like a waste. So it’s not surprising to see why Pochettino and company have yet to submit an offer.

They’re biding their time until Marseille’s offer lowers just a bit more.

And, according to the Daily Express (via Le Parisien), it appears that Michy Batshuayi’s offer did in fact get lowered quite a bit because of Benjamin Mendy’s sale to Monaco for a little over €10 million.

The current price of €25 million (£20.3 million) matches Batshuayi’s value for a striker who scored 23 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions last term after scoring 10 goals in 28 games two years ago.

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The 22-year-old has the talent to lead Tottenham’s attack and if Le Parisien’s report is true, that Marseille only needs £20 million to finally balance out their books, this is something that Spurs can complete.

Although, it’s not always easy as it seems.

Vincent Labrune, Mareseille’s president, still favors West Ham’s offer because they’re the current highest bidder at £32.5 million (£28.5 million plus £4 million in add-ons) per a report from L’Equipe.

And with Standard Liege receiving 35 percent of Olympique Marseille’s sell-on fee, you could tell who they want to sign the Belgian international.

Regarding Juventus’ offer, their total of £28.5 million (£26.1 million plus £2.4 million in add-ons) is severely lower than that of the Hammers. But at the very least they’re second as Tottenham have yet to submit their own offer.

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Whether Michy Batshuayi’s true value is €40 million (£32.4 million), €35 million (£28.4 million) or €25 million (£20.3 million), it’s apparent that Marseille will want as much money back for selling their most prized asset this summer.

Tottenham have 10 days to match West Ham’s £32.5 million bid. The only thing stopping them from submitting that high of an offer is whether they want to spend that much, plus paying him wages which could be as high as £100,000-per-week.

Or, will they spread out their payment over a certain amount of years like they did for Saido Berahino and Vincent Janssen? Which wound up getting rejected in the end.