They had no idea they were doing it, and they probably couldn't care less, but Chelsea's mammoth purchase of Morgan Rogers helped Spurs strike an impressive deal for the sale of Will Lankshear.
The Lilywhites have entered their selling era of this summer transfer window, having splurged more than £230m to completely reinvent their defence and midfield.
Spurs are expected to go big again to bolster their frontline, but sales are being prioritised for the moment. Lankshear will soon be added to the list of departures after the club oversaw the exits of Luka Vušković, Alfie Devine, Alejo Véliz and Radu Drăgușin. Lucas Bergvall, Cristian Romero and World Cup hero Djed Spence could also be on the move.
The club's earned just shy of €70m in sales so far, and they're set to add a healthy chunk to their transfer kitty once Middlesbrough complete the signing of Lankshear, who made just three senior appearances for the club.
Middlesbrough cash-in on Morgan Rogers deal to sign Will Lankshear
This is a brilliant deal for Spurs. Yes, I know some of us are concerned about potential pathways for our younger players, especially after we lost Tynan Thompson to Manchester United, albeit for £8m, but we couldn't turn down a deal for Lankshear that may be worth £20m. Boro are paying a reported £10m up front and another £10m in add-ons.
Letting him go for that sort of money is a no-brainer, and Chelsea's £117m purchase of Rogers helped facilitate Boro's move.
How? Well, the Championship club is earning 20% of the profit Villa earns from the Rogers sale after selling the Englishman to the Villans for £8m in January 2024. Thus, they're expected to make at least £20m, which is seemingly being reinvested into Lanskhear.
We've also snuck in a 20% sell-on clause into our agreement with Boro for the young striker, so if he does develop into a world-beater, we'll at least earn a big wad of cash when the Premier League hopefuls eventually sell.
The deal is another example of the club operating more shrewdly in the market. We were so bad at selling for so long, but I don't think we can have any complaints about what we've done on that front so far this summer.
We're setting the stage for another big splash, with as many as three forwards potentially coming through the door. The bombas are coming, folks.
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