Pay That Mendes His Money: The Summer 2021 Transfer Thread

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Pretty decent pickup, really good at pressuring and blocks, does have an eye towards progressive passing and decent amount of progressive dribbling that isn't really a shot maker or taker.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
I assure you we fully understand that you are very, very jealous.

Presumably City are supposed to win the league and lose the CL and say “aw shucks” guess we have to let everyone catch up now.

Also Grealish is likely a replacement of sorts for Bernardo who supposedly has asked out. City also let David Silva walk without a direct replacement and while not 1 for 1 he’d probably become a left sided attacking option where City aren’t short but he offers something specifically different.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
Even Zomp at troll level 10 has never sounded more like a stereotypical Manchester United fan than you did there.
I can only assume that the intention of this post was to drive a spike into my soul. It was very successful.

I stand by my sentiment though. City can’t just stand still and have let an absolutely absurd amount of quality walk away on a free over the pas few years. Silva, Kompany, Aguero in successive seasons with no transfer fee incoming is a massive loss of talent and very hard to accomplish when FFP compliance ties spending ability to player sales via profit.

I don’t even know if Grealish is worth that kind of cost but it’s a defensible price and City cannot be expected to stand still while rivals strengthen. It is hardly surprising that City now need to replenish the top end of the roster with the players who have left. City didn’t even directly replace Sane. I don’t see it as some extravagant expression of City buying for sport when City have not really added to the attack or brought anyone in all summer
 

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 3, 2005
15,568
California. Duh.
I'm not saying that City shouldn't spend money or try to reload. I'm just saying that specific remark by you came off like every Man United fan at the height of SAF.

I'm not jealous of City in the least. They've had great success and great moments for sure, but the highs and lows (and yes, I know the lows aren't really that low compared to most sides) of following Liverpool over the last couple decades is something I wouldn't trade for any other side's trophy cabinet
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
I assure you we fully understand that you are very, very jealous.

Presumably City are supposed to win the league and lose the CL and say “aw shucks” guess we have to let everyone catch up now.

Also Grealish is likely a replacement of sorts for Bernardo who supposedly has asked out. City also let David Silva walk without a direct replacement and while not 1 for 1 he’d probably become a left sided attacking option where City aren’t short but he offers something specifically different.
Just trying to keep up …

https://www.transfermarkt.us/premier-league/fuenfjahresvergleich/wettbewerb/GB1
 

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 3, 2005
15,568
California. Duh.
I mean you would trade it for United’s cabinet.
Why would I give up 3 European Cups for 1 more league trophy?

You're only a few years from having your tales of dominance be as far in the past as Liverpool fans were in the mid-2000s.
 

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
Wha? Did you really just zing me with my club hasn't won the league in 8 years so we're 7 years away from looking like a club that didn't win the league for another 15 years after that?

Not your best ;)

Love you.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
This is like watching people argue about who was cooler in high school at your 30 year reunion.

And Mighty Joe Young you won’t find me arguing that City are a little engine that could or that City haven’t spent an absolute ton of money. My point is that Grealish is not some unnecessary luxury signing. City were extremely short in attack last season and in the end Chelsea figured out how to park a bus in front of them. 4 losses in a month proved extremely costly and City need to find a way through.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
“Extremely short in attack” - only if you’re referring to Aguero being 5’8”.

43085
 

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 3, 2005
15,568
California. Duh.
Wha? Did you really just zing me with my club hasn't won the league in 8 years so we're 7 years away from looking like a club that didn't win the league for another 15 years after that?

Not your best ;)

Love you.
All I'm saying is that it's funny watching a Man City fan doing what they used to mock United fans for (claiming everyone else is just jealous), while United fans do what they used to mock Liverpool fans for (tout their history to distract from more recent lack of success). And no, I'm not ignoring the shortcomings of Liverpool fans, either. We're all hypocritical jerks at times.

Teddy, I spent my whole 30 year reunion drinking and laughing about what giant dorks we were back then.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
“Extremely short in attack” - only if you’re referring to Aguero being 5’8”.

View attachment 43085
You act like I didn’t watch City play Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, KDB in some of the biggest matches of the season all forced to play ST or as a false 9.

KDB has missed significant time every season and is starting this one with little break after playing a Euros match on a messed up ankle. He’s also 30. Bernardo wants out and although he had a good Euros Sterling really struggled. Those 83 goals were a good 20 short of what City have been doing recently and if Gundogan doesn’t catch fire in the winter they probably don’t win the league. Addressing the attack was the absolute imperative of this offseason

edit: and guys this is supposed to have been in jest. Guy posts “this is why City are accused of buying the league” in a summer where City have bought nobody and I tried to have some fun with it. Now we are back to posting net spend graphics.
 
Last edited:

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
You act like I didn’t watch City play Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, KDB in some of the biggest matches of the season all forced to play ST or as a false 9.

KDB has missed significant time every season and is starting this one with little break after playing a Euros match on a messed up ankle. He’s also 30. Bernardo wants out and although he had a good Euros Sterling really struggled. Those 83 goals were a good 20 short of what City have been doing recently and if Gundogan doesn’t catch fire in the winter they probably don’t win the league. Addressing the attack was the absolute imperative of this offseason

edit: and guys this is supposed to have been in jest. Guy posts “this is why City are accused of buying the league” in a summer where City have bought nobody and I tried to have some fun with it. Now we are back to posting net spend graphics.
Hey … no worries. Point taken.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
City can almost assuredly do both. One United reporter said it won’t be possible and everyone ran with that idea but City haven’t spent on anyone to this point and have been selling. It may take another sale to end up with enough for FFP but they’ve mostly already paid for Grealish with sales that have already happened, iirc, and then Kane’s fee would be the entirety of the net spend.

I still wish that City just spent it all on Halaand, but it’s an exceptionally well run club financially. There’s very little chance they tapped up Grealish and Kane and didn’t have a plan to fit them both in
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
City has raised about £30m total from outgoings (Angelino, Harrison, Nmecha) so far per Transfermarkt.

My understanding is that FFP remains relaxed this summer so I have no doubt they can buy both if they want.

Kane is going to be painted as the bad guy in this situation but I think his actions are pretty understandable. He has a very longstanding relationship with Levy and it sounds like they had some kind of informal agreement that he could leave if a suitable offer arrived this summer. Obviously it is not very wise to put all your faith in a gentleman's agreement with someone like Levy. Nevertheless, I can see why he would be mad because Levy's understanding of a "suitable offer" seems completely unrealistic for an injury prone 28-year-old player in a Covid market. Maybe Levy is just posturing and relents. But if your position is that you wont entertain a sale for less than £160m then you're basically saying that the player cannot leave under any plausible circumstance.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
City has raised about £30m total from outgoings (Angelino, Harrison, Nmecha) so far per Transfermarkt.

My understanding is that FFP remains relaxed this summer so I have no doubt they can buy both if they want.

Kane is going to be painted as the bad guy in this situation but I think his actions are pretty understandable. He has a very longstanding relationship with Levy and it sounds like they had some kind of informal agreement that he could leave if a suitable offer arrived this summer. Obviously it is not very wise to put all your faith in a gentleman's agreement with someone like Levy. Nevertheless, I can see why he would be mad because Levy's understanding of a "suitable offer" seems completely unrealistic for an injury prone 28-year-old player in a Covid market. Maybe Levy is just posturing and relents. But if your position is that you wont entertain a sale for less than £160m then you're basically saying that the player cannot leave under any plausible circumstance.
My understanding is that some of last seasons sales did not hit Citys books last season due to Covid and rules so the total is higher. Either way it’s usually accounted on a rolling basis and even more so with the relaxed FFP so I think it would in the end be tight but doable
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
City has raised about £30m total from outgoings (Angelino, Harrison, Nmecha) so far per Transfermarkt.

My understanding is that FFP remains relaxed this summer so I have no doubt they can buy both if they want.

Kane is going to be painted as the bad guy in this situation but I think his actions are pretty understandable. He has a very longstanding relationship with Levy and it sounds like they had some kind of informal agreement that he could leave if a suitable offer arrived this summer. Obviously it is not very wise to put all your faith in a gentleman's agreement with someone like Levy. Nevertheless, I can see why he would be mad because Levy's understanding of a "suitable offer" seems completely unrealistic for an injury prone 28-year-old player in a Covid market. Maybe Levy is just posturing and relents. But if your position is that you wont entertain a sale for less than £160m then you're basically saying that the player cannot leave under any plausible circumstance.
The audience for Levy right now is City, not Kane. It's a negotiation, and Levy is going to try to squeeze City for everything he can get. Even if Levy might ultimately accept something around 100m, he's certainly going to find out first if City are willing to pay more. 100m/160m were something like opening offers from both sides. Levy won't get City to 160m, but will City go to 125m? This is the only way to find out.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
The audience for Levy right now is City, not Kane. It's a negotiation, and Levy is going to try to squeeze City for everything he can get. Even if Levy might ultimately accept something around 100m, he's certainly going to find out first if City are willing to pay more. 100m/160m were something like opening offers from both sides. Levy won't get City to 160m, but will City go to 125m? This is the only way to find out.
I can certainly buy the idea that Levy is trying to negotiate the fee and his public stance is part of a negotiation strategy. The question is whether he is willing to go down to something reasonable like in the 120m range in the end and I think that question remains open. There are definitely past examples where he set unrealistic prices on players and just didn't seem to budge.

I'll also add that there are some real costs to Levy's strategy in terms of PR. I see a lot of Spurs supporters (not here, but on Twitter and elsewhere) claiming that no way the club should sell for less than 160m, or 200m, or 150m plus Aymeric Laporte, etc. He has created a situation where if he sells for a reasonably fair price - which is probably around 100-120m pounds given we're talking about an injury prone 28-year-old in a Covid market - he is going to get a ton of blowback.
 
Last edited:

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Does anybody have a clear understanding of the quarantine rules for transferred players coming to England from other European countries? Do you have to quarantine for a week upon arrival in the country?
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
The audience for Levy right now is City, not Kane. It's a negotiation, and Levy is going to try to squeeze City for everything he can get. Even if Levy might ultimately accept something around 100m, he's certainly going to find out first if City are willing to pay more. 100m/160m were something like opening offers from both sides. Levy won't get City to 160m, but will City go to 125m? This is the only way to find out.
I would also claim this is example No. 1 of why you need at least professional representation. We're now at a point in this process that the media and fans are actually siding with Levy! And Levy kinda sucks. Kane looks an absolute fool right now.

Jack Grealish is making Kane look like an absolute child instead of captain of England. I have watched a lot of the english press on this and this is going poorly for Kane, he's been ill advised.

I predict he comes back to Spurs quickly for training. I watched Levy tell Modric to screw off about going to Chelsea and just kept him an entire year before selling to Real. Kane has no out clause and 3 years left. Man City is going to have to pay 150 I think (or something like 120+LaPorte).
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
I’m sure City would do something like 90 + Laporte but there’s the little matter of Laporte probably not wanting to go to Spurs. In your scenario, if you’re valuing Kane at 150 which is way too high imo, then you’re putting a 30m valuation on Laporte. City would be better off selling Laporte at full value elsewhere and paying full Kane fee.
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
I’m sure City would do something like 90 + Laporte but there’s the little matter of Laporte probably not wanting to go to Spurs. In your scenario, if you’re valuing Kane at 150 which is way too high imo, then you’re putting a 30m valuation on Laporte. City would be better off selling Laporte at full value elsewhere and paying full Kane fee.
I don't disagree with you (other than that 150 is an overvalue). Levy has the multiple golden boot winning homegrown England Captain on a 3 year deal with no out clauses. He's going to look for that sort of deal to an English side.

Otherwise I think he'll just wait and Kane will continue to look bad in the process. Kane with 2 years left on his contract is still probably worth 100m (maybe 90) next summer. And with the World Cup coming up, and the records he wants to break, Kane isn't sitting out a season. Kane has almost no leverage here. If City want a striker they don't have much either (that said, City's team is good enough to win the league right now, so they don't have to buy Kane and they could just wait for Halaand's clause to kick-in next offseason), Kane's reps have absolutely screwed him here.

I think Levy told Kane it's 160 to get him (which is why his "agent" brother was talking that number up to a gossip reporter). And in the end, I think he accepts 150. I don't think it's going lower than that.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
I would also claim this is example No. 1 of why you need at least professional representation. We're now at a point in this process that the media and fans are actually siding with Levy! And Levy kinda sucks. Kane looks an absolute fool right now.

Jack Grealish is making Kane look like an absolute child instead of captain of England. I have watched a lot of the english press on this and this is going poorly for Kane, he's been ill advised.

I predict he comes back to Spurs quickly for training. I watched Levy tell Modric to screw off about going to Chelsea and just kept him an entire year before selling to Real. Kane has no out clause and 3 years left. Man City is going to have to pay 150 I think (or something like 120+LaPorte).
It is definitely going poorly for Kane in terms of public sentiment, at least from what I can see from the press and a few (non-Spurs) forums.

England is a really conservative country in a lot of ways. Public sentiment is pretty much all "He signed a contract, he has to honor it! This is a disgrace!" This view seems a lot more universal than it is in America when players hold out, demand trades, or otherwise try to use whatever leverage they have against their billionaire owners.

Personally, I'm on Kane's side. He has given the best years of his career to the club, he signed a contract that was very team-friendly, and he has communicated for at least a year that he wants to play somewhere else. Levy has every right to negotiate the fee but to hold out for an unrealistic figure is a shitty thing to do to a player who has bled plenty for the shirt.
 
Last edited:

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
I'm also team Kane. As much as I don't want him to go to City, if there truly was an agreement with Levy that he could stick it out one more year than go to another club, then he should be able to be let go. If City pays over 120 mil for him that's an unbelievable price for a 28 year old with a lot of miles on him. I don't think he's going to age as poorly as Rooney did but I don't think he's Cristiano either.

I also don't think Kane would have wanted to go if Mourinho was still there. He was the one player who seemed to really enjoy playing for Jose.

Also, at this point, CIty and Spurs aren't exactly competing for the same things.
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
I'm also team Kane. As much as I don't want him to go to City, if there truly was an agreement with Levy that he could stick it out one more year than go to another club, then he should be able to be let go. If City pays over 120 mil for him that's an unbelievable price for a 28 year old with a lot of miles on him. I don't think he's going to age as poorly as Rooney did but I don't think he's Cristiano either.

I also don't think Kane would have wanted to go if Mourinho was still there. He was the one player who seemed to really enjoy playing for Jose.

Also, at this point, CIty and Spurs aren't exactly competing for the same things.
Honest question. What do you think this "gentelman's agreement" consisted of? Do you think Levy told Kane he'd just sell him for whatever? And what was Kane's leverage being on a 4 year contract with no out clauses?

Again, I love Harry Kane, but I don't see how this is working for him.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
Well it’s clearly not working for him. I didn’t think he had it in him to hold out of training at all, he’s always been Harry Hotspur and didn’t think he’d be willing to damage his reputation like this. Spurs undoubtedly hold most of the cards here, of course, but it is a pretty shitty thing to do to a player who truly did his best to commit to the project. When Kane signed that deal Spurs were on the ascendancy. An awful lot has gone wrong since and Kane has shown a lot of loyalty throughout. 28 is old for a striker and while there will always be a market for him as England’s talisman it may very quickly drop. There’s no way Kane is still at the top of his game when Spurs have finished rebuilding this squad and Spurs may never get there. That doesn’t mean Spurs should capitulate and give up but cashing in on Kane while he has maximum value and one of the biggest players in the market has a gaping hole at striker is the pathway to funding a rebuild.

In a way it reminds me of the Messi saga last summer. Barca were able to hold onto him and now look like they will sign him again. But given where Barca were in terms of squad and it’s ability to compete they were absolutely mad not to have taken 100 million for Messigiven the state of the club financially. Now it’s Messi and he may be so large a commercial draw that it was still somehow the right move for Barca but these sales at the right time and help to accelerate a rebuild. Of course there’s a ton of risk in the approach but you look at what Liverpool did with the Coutinho sale and that’s the model for Spurs. It can be a disastrous failure but deploying the money correctly can be a foundation builder for years to come.

Probably the logic failure here is that I’m not convinced Spurs think they’re in or facing a rebuild. There seems to be a temptation to attribute some of the recent underperformance as all managerial related and that bringing back Kane and getting players like Dele back on track can result in again challenging for CL titles. If that’s your mindset you can see why Levy may want to keep Kane to resecure top 4 and push on while Kane’s window is still open. The problem is that Kane seems convinced the window is closing
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
Well it’s clearly not working for him. I didn’t think he had it in him to hold out of training at all, he’s always been Harry Hotspur and didn’t think he’d be willing to damage his reputation like this. Spurs undoubtedly hold most of the cards here, of course, but it is a pretty shitty thing to do to a player who truly did his best to commit to the project. When Kane signed that deal Spurs were on the ascendancy. An awful lot has gone wrong since and Kane has shown a lot of loyalty throughout. 28 is old for a striker and while there will always be a market for him as England’s talisman it may very quickly drop. There’s no way Kane is still at the top of his game when Spurs have finished rebuilding this squad and Spurs may never get there. That doesn’t mean Spurs should capitulate and give up but cashing in on Kane while he has maximum value and one of the biggest players in the market has a gaping hole at striker is the pathway to funding a rebuild.

In a way it reminds me of the Messi saga last summer. Barca were able to hold onto him and now look like they will sign him again. But given where Barca were in terms of squad and it’s ability to compete they were absolutely mad not to have taken 100 million for Messigiven the state of the club financially. Now it’s Messi and he may be so large a commercial draw that it was still somehow the right move for Barca but these sales at the right time and help to accelerate a rebuild. Of course there’s a ton of risk in the approach but you look at what Liverpool did with the Coutinho sale and that’s the model for Spurs. It can be a disastrous failure but deploying the money correctly can be a foundation builder for years to come.

Probably the logic failure here is that I’m not convinced Spurs think they’re in or facing a rebuild. There seems to be a temptation to attribute some of the recent underperformance as all managerial related and that bringing back Kane and getting players like Dele back on track can result in again challenging for CL titles. If that’s your mindset you can see why Levy may want to keep Kane to resecure top 4 and push on while Kane’s window is still open. The problem is that Kane seems convinced the window is closing
Right, and for the most part I agree. I also think Spurs probably should take 130 and rebuild. I just don't think they will.

Even looking at the Bale situation, despite how those 7 players are mocked a bit, Eriksen was instrumental in bringing Spurs to the top 4 consistently and Lamela and even Chadli played a role. So, spent wisely, it makes a ton of sense.

I guess my big point just remains the same: Don't make your idiot brother your agent. Kane represented by any professional agent wouldn't be in this current situation. He'd either already be at City or he'd be looking like a tragic hero while Levy negotiates. Instead, he has no out clauses, no cards to play.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
If there’s a real offer on the table, Levy will sell when he’s found the right balance between maxing out the fee and allowing time to find a replacement.

Rumors are that Lautaro Martinez can be nabbed for half the fee and half the wages of Kane. That would be spectacular business.
 

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
Honest question. What do you think this "gentelman's agreement" consisted of? Do you think Levy told Kane he'd just sell him for whatever? And what was Kane's leverage being on a 4 year contract with no out clauses?

Again, I love Harry Kane, but I don't see how this is working for him.
I don’t know, but I could see a situation where Kane told Levy that he wants to explore moving on and Levy said “you can’t go this summer. But see where we’re at next summer and if you still want to go, you can.” The same situation happened with Ronaldo in 2009 or 10. He told Ferguson he wanted to go. Ferguson said give me one more season, so he did. And at the end he was sold for a world record fee.


Levy is certainly entitled to maximizing the fee but that doesn’t seem to be what’s happening now.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
Right, and for the most part I agree. I also think Spurs probably should take 130 and rebuild. I just don't think they will.

Even looking at the Bale situation, despite how those 7 players are mocked a bit, Eriksen was instrumental in bringing Spurs to the top 4 consistently and Lamela and even Chadli played a role. So, spent wisely, it makes a ton of sense.

I guess my big point just remains the same: Don't make your idiot brother your agent. Kane represented by any professional agent wouldn't be in this current situation. He'd either already be at City or he'd be looking like a tragic hero while Levy negotiates. Instead, he has no out clauses, no cards to play.
I think his brother is not optimal but fine. Theres nothing Mino would be doing differently here if Levy didn’t want to sell. This is how players engineer exits, unfortunately, and I think it’s better if clubs don’t get into these messes in the first place.

Maybe the one difference is the entire approach. City have a very specific way of operating — they tolerate almost 0 multi party negotiations. I think this is why they swiftly moved on from Halaand. City asks the player to commit to a move to City and only City and as a result they’ll pay a certain fee so the player doesn’t end up stranded. Usually this works but it has failed on several occasions and maybe different representation would have kept more options open which may have led to an easier exit because Levy could extract a better deal
 

wonderland

New Member
Jul 20, 2005
525
I'm also team Kane. As much as I don't want him to go to City, if there truly was an agreement with Levy that he could stick it out one more year than go to another club, then he should be able to be let go. If City pays over 120 mil for him that's an unbelievable price for a 28 year old with a lot of miles on him. I don't think he's going to age as poorly as Rooney did but I don't think he's Cristiano either.

I also don't think Kane would have wanted to go if Mourinho was still there. He was the one player who seemed to really enjoy playing for Jose.

Also, at this point, CIty and Spurs aren't exactly competing for the same things.
Does Kane have a lot of miles on him? By the time he made it to the regular first team with Spurs, he was relatively old for a prospect. According to transfer market, he’s played 31,000 minutes while Lukaku, who is two months older, has played 39,000 minutes.

I know he plays a lot of minutes over the past five years but he’s also missed time, which has saved him some minutes.

He’s adapted into various roles well, he is big, and I would imagine given his relationship/admiration with Brady, he wants to take care of his body to the extent he can control.

I guess what I’m saying is I could see him aging like Lewandowski and still being a really good player in five years.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,841
I don’t know, but I could see a situation where Kane told Levy that he wants to explore moving on and Levy said “you can’t go this summer. But see where we’re at next summer and if you still want to go, you can.”
Knowing how Levy operates, he may have said exactly that. But the next few words would have been "assuming we get a fair fee for you."
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Well it’s clearly not working for him. I didn’t think he had it in him to hold out of training at all, he’s always been Harry Hotspur and didn’t think he’d be willing to damage his reputation like this. Spurs undoubtedly hold most of the cards here, of course, but it is a pretty shitty thing to do to a player who truly did his best to commit to the project. When Kane signed that deal Spurs were on the ascendancy. An awful lot has gone wrong since and Kane has shown a lot of loyalty throughout. 28 is old for a striker and while there will always be a market for him as England’s talisman it may very quickly drop. There’s no way Kane is still at the top of his game when Spurs have finished rebuilding this squad and Spurs may never get there. That doesn’t mean Spurs should capitulate and give up but cashing in on Kane while he has maximum value and one of the biggest players in the market has a gaping hole at striker is the pathway to funding a rebuild.

In a way it reminds me of the Messi saga last summer. Barca were able to hold onto him and now look like they will sign him again. But given where Barca were in terms of squad and it’s ability to compete they were absolutely mad not to have taken 100 million for Messigiven the state of the club financially. Now it’s Messi and he may be so large a commercial draw that it was still somehow the right move for Barca but these sales at the right time and help to accelerate a rebuild. Of course there’s a ton of risk in the approach but you look at what Liverpool did with the Coutinho sale and that’s the model for Spurs. It can be a disastrous failure but deploying the money correctly can be a foundation builder for years to come.

Probably the logic failure here is that I’m not convinced Spurs think they’re in or facing a rebuild. There seems to be a temptation to attribute some of the recent underperformance as all managerial related and that bringing back Kane and getting players like Dele back on track can result in again challenging for CL titles. If that’s your mindset you can see why Levy may want to keep Kane to resecure top 4 and push on while Kane’s window is still open. The problem is that Kane seems convinced the window is closing
Excellent post.

Spurs have a negative XG in aggregate over their last 85-90 league matches or something ridiculous like that. Maybe there is some managerial underperformance but its happened across two different managers, neither of whom are mugs. An objective look at the situation suggests they really should be rebuilding and that selling Kane this summer at the peak of his value is the right move.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
The big question re the current philosophy at WHL depends on just how much authority and confidence Levy/ENIC have in Paratici. If Paratici has the green light to do a full rebuild, I'd imagine he'd be in favor of selling Kane. Alternatively, if he thinks he needs to finish top 4 THIS season, then he's gonna be #KaneIN. I can't imagine that ENIC brought in Paratici after holding out on a DoF for so long and not give up some real authority and provide some leash, but while Levy was indestructible as of 2018, the last 2-3 years have shown that others have caught up to him and exposed his flaws.
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
I think his brother is not optimal but fine. Theres nothing Mino would be doing differently here if Levy didn’t want to sell. This is how players engineer exits, unfortunately, and I think it’s better if clubs don’t get into these messes in the first place.

Maybe the one difference is the entire approach. City have a very specific way of operating — they tolerate almost 0 multi party negotiations. I think this is why they swiftly moved on from Halaand. City asks the player to commit to a move to City and only City and as a result they’ll pay a certain fee so the player doesn’t end up stranded. Usually this works but it has failed on several occasions and maybe different representation would have kept more options open which may have led to an easier exit because Levy could extract a better deal
His brother shouldn't have had him sign a 6 year deal with no clauses like "two years without CL league football and a 80m buyout clause is activated". "After year 2 if Spurs aren't in at least the Europa league, 90m buyout clause activates". Something like that for a player of Kane's quality and stature for a six year contract should be borderline standard.

Or, you know, only sign a 4 year contract.

And if you are going to make all those mistakes, don't compound them by having your asset turn from hero to villain by not showing up and make the actual villain of the story (Levy) look like a hero.

Again, his representation isn't fine, it's terrible. He doesn't need a Mendez or Raiola to do this. Really just any professional and not his brother who clearly doesn't know what he's doing.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
It’s a bit nuts, but how many strikers in the world are on better form than Big Rom? He looks like he’s got a couple dominant seasons coming up.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Baby come back. We have no space for another striker but we need a proper striker. I love Werner but he's just been caught offside again. Maybe the new VAR rules will make Werner more valuable but Lukaku is pretty damn good. But that's a lot of barrels of oil for Roman.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Fee and wages that Lukaku deal would amount to about a £200m outlay over five years, getting his age 28-32 seasons.

To put that in perspective, pre-Covid Chelsea had annual revenues around £440m.

Its good to have wealthy owners who don't care about money.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Guardian reporting that Villa are the center of the transfer world today - Grealish to City for £100m & Leon Bailey in from Leverkusen for £30m both in their final stages. They also note that Villa are eyeballing Tammy Abraham with the windfall.