Time and time again, Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy has proven that nothing comes before hoarding wealth and churning out a profit. Under Levy's stewardship, Tottenham have been more about making money than winning games, run like a myopic business rather than a sporting franchise with proud fans in a proud city.
This summer, Tottenham have already missed out on a bevy of great players and proven Premier League talents because of Levy's unwillingness to spend, with Brentford star right winger Bryan Mbeumo, who was new coach Thomas Frank's biggest star with the Bees, headlining that list.
But sometimes, it makes sense for Levy not to spend, even when the player in question is very good and well-established as one of the best players in the Premier League at his position. After balking at Eberechi Eze's 68 million pound release clause at Crystal Palace, it looks like Tottenham will be doing the same with Marc Guehi.
Tottenham have been looking at Guehi for quite some time, and they even tried to sign him last summer for an uncharacteristic 70 million pounds. But Crystal Palace rejected the offer for their leader and top-class center back, which actually proved to be right since he was instrumental in the Eagles winning the FA Cup last season.
Could the bargain happen later for Spurs?
Guehi now has a year left on his contract, and Tottenham were hoping that they'd get a bargain deal to sign him this summer, with the England international clearly headlining the list of potential Cristian Romero replacements if the World Cup hero were to leave for a tempting offer.
However, there will be no bargain to be had, as of right now. The Guardian's Andy Hunter reports that even though Guehi will be on an expiring contract next season and available to sign for free in 2026, Crystal Palace are still asking for a sky-high 65 million pounds from both Liverpool and Tottenham - or any other interested parties in the 24-year-old star.
Guehi is still so young for a center back despite being firmly established at a Premier League and even an international level. But Tottenham probably aren't going to sell Romero just to sign Guehi for the same cost on an expiring contract, and, if anything, this report will only galvanize Levy to try and wait to sign Guehi for free.
Before then, Liverpool may swoop in if Guehi's price drops just a bit. Palace are making it clear that they will not be selling their big stars for cheap this summer, whether that be the 68 million pound rated Eze or the 65 million pound rated Guehi.