Last summer transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur let a few of their top transfer targets let go to other Big Six Premier League clubs because they were not able to spend just enough money to close the deal. Although Spurs are probably happier they ended up with Xavi Simons instead, the most prominent example of this was the way they lost out on Eberechi Eze to rivals Arsenal.
As much as Tottenham fans like to point at Eze for betraying the club or at Arsenal for the way they swooped in at the last second, the entire blame for that transfer going south was on Daniel Levy and Spurs. Eze simply took the best deal on the table, as did Crystal Palace, and Arsenal are always going to go for a deal that helps them and hurts Spurs.
What Tottenham screwed up was not paying Crystal Palace exactly what they wanted. That is why the deal fell south. Arsenal gave Crystal Palace the money they were looking for, and Levy tried to knock the price down by a few million pounds - the few million that the Gunners were more than happy to pay to get a blockbuster deal over the line.
It seems like Mateus Fernandes is coming
Well, Tottenham Hotspur are not about to make the same mistake twice with a better player, a younger player, and a more important target for their new manager, Roberto De Zerbi, who has a ton of power behind the scenes now and is not, like Thomas Frank, the kind of character who would take kindly to Spurs screwing up a transfer he really wants.
According to a new report from Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail, Tottenham are now reportedly ready to pay the full 85 million pounds that West Ham United are looking for in order to sell Mateus Fernandes, with both Real Madrid and Manchester United interested.
With Real Madrid now more focused on World Cup hero Enzo Fernandez, the transfer duel is between Man United and Tottenham. And for a change, it is the Red Devils who are now leery about spending 85 million pounds on Fernandes, which has given Spurs the opening to sign the 21 year old No. 6 to step into their lineup.
And so if Spurs are willing to meet the West Ham asking price, Fernandes is pretty much as good as theirs. Maybe it is overpay, but for Tottenham, it seems that signing Fernandes at any somewhat reasoable price is much better than signing nobody at all.
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