Football Finance expert Kieran Maguire has slammed Everton for trying to re-negotiate the Dele Alli deal with Tottenham, insisting that Spurs will not entertain the approach.
Dele has made 13 appearances for Everton since his switch to Goodison Park almost two years ago, with the deal thought to include a series of performance-related payments.
One of these is that the Toffees owe £10m to Spurs if the former England international makes 20 appearances for the club. Sean Dyche stated back in September that Everton may re-enter talks with Tottenham over changing the structure of the deal (Liverpool Echo).
The Telegraph subsequently revealed a couple of weeks ago that Everton’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell, has already reached out to Tottenham to try and renegotiate the deal.
Tottenham will not entertain new Dele Alli deal
However, Maguire has now said that the move from the Toffees reeks of desperation and that Spurs have no reason to consider changing the terms of the transfer.
When asked about Everton’s request, he told Football Insider: “Contracts are contracts. This does seem a very strange approach by the Everton hierarchy. If Dele Alli had put in some stellar performances with plenty of goals and assists you wouldn’t have seen Spurs wanting to return to the negotiating table to try and increase the fee.
“So I think it shows a degree of naivety. Dele Alli has been open and honest with regard to the challenges he’s facing in his life and the impact that it’s had. It’s very unfortunate that it has coincided with his transfer to Everton.
“But I think at the senior level at Everton, just like when it comes to buying or selling a company, you do your due diligence and Dele Alli’s problems were evident towards the latter stages of his career at Spurs.
“It therefore suggests that the signing was one of desperation at the time, and you never, never buy in desperation.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This situation is a little more complicated than Maguire is suggesting. Everton will simply ensure that Dele does not play seven more matches if the deal is not renegotiated as it would make no sense for them to spend £10m on him, given their current financial situation.
So, it is arguably in Tottenham’s interest (as well as in Dele’s) for some sort of compromise to be worked out so that the midfielder can continue with his career and the North London club get some sort of compensation.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
