Football.London‘s Alasdair Gold has explained the messy circumstances of Matt Doherty’s exit and revealed that some of the Tottenham players were left ‘shocked’ by the club’s decision to terminate the right-back’s contract.
Gold revealed that Doherty had flown to Madrid on Tuesday morning to complete the final details of what was expected to be a straight loan move to Atletico without an option or an obligation to buy.
However, it is explained that at some point during the process yesterday, Spurs realised that following Djed Spence’s loan move to Rennes, they were at the maximum limit of eight players that clubs are allowed to loan out within a set timeframe, according to FIFA’s rules.
The Lilywhites instead had to find a late compromise, which is when a decision had to be taken to mutually terminate Doherty’s contract.
Gold adds that with the Republic of Ireland international having 18 months left on his deal, he would have sought assurances about being financially compensated in case Atletico did not choose to keep him on beyond the summer.
The journalist also revealed that the news of Doherty’s sudden exit yesterday left many of his Spurs teammates astounded, with the 30-year-old having been a popular member of the dressing room since his move from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Doherty was known to have been a close friend of Harry Kane during his time in north London (Irish Mirror).
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Spurs Web Opinion
It is unbelievably incompetent of Spurs to not realise that they were already at the limits of loans allowed. Not only have they forgone a transfer fee for Doherty but they would have likely paid off a portion of the 30-year-old’s contract to terminate it.
That means, in essence, that the Porro signing has proven to be a lot more expensive than reports suggest.
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