Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin has threatened to take Tottenham Hotspur to court should the North London club sign Manor Solomon on a free transfer this summer.
Solomon first made his name at Shakhtar Donetsk but following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, FIFA ruled that Ukraine-based players were allowed to suspend their contracts, which the attacker took advantage of to sign a one-year loan deal with Fulham last July (Daily Mail).
The winger was largely used as an impact substitute from the bench by Marco Silva this season but he has shown enough promise to attract the attention of Spurs.
The Athletic reported last month that while Fulham wish to tie the Israeli international to a long-term contract this summer, Spurs were also keen on snapping him up, with the report stating that the Lilywhites are now ‘at the front of the queue’ for the 23-year-old.
However, Palkin has now said it would be unjust if Shaktar do not receive a fee for the attacker and even threatened legal action against Tottenham if they sign him on a free transfer.
Shakhtar threaten legal action over Manor Solomon
The Shakhtar chief told ESPN: “I contacted Solomon and his agent and invited him back to our club.
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“I said ‘you can play all the games in the Champions League, you will be in the starting eleven’ but he doesn’t want to move and I believe he will stay in England.
“Finally, where he will go, I don’t know. In any case, if you go to Tottenham, we will deal with Tottenham in court in this case. Everything comes to a simple situation: it sounds like unjust enrichment.
“Can you imagine, we pay big money for this player and finally Tottenham receives him for free? It is not fair in respect of our club. We will definitely go to court and we will fight for ourselves.”
Spurs Web Opinion
One can understand why Shakhtar feel hard done by in this situation but it is FIFA that they should be suing as they are the ones who brought in the rule that allowed Ukraine-based players to suspend their contracts.
Tottenham would not be doing anything wrong by signing a player who is currently a free agent.
However, I do wonder if the prospect of an unnecessary legal battle will put off the likes of Spurs and Fulham from pursuing the 23-year-old.
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