The deal Tottenham Hotspur have agreed with Preston North End for the sale of Alfie Devine is evidence that the attacking midfielder remains highly rated by Spurs’ decision-makers.
Devine’s six-year spell at Tottenham has now come to an end, with the youngster sealing a permanent switch to the Deepdale Stadium on the back of his impressive loan spell at the club last season.
According to reports, Preston paid £6m to land the Spurs midfielder, making him the Championship club’s record signing.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men will hope that the 21-year-old continues building on his impressive 2025-26 campaign, which saw him register 14 goal contributions.
Tottenham retain sizable sell-on clause on Alfie Devine
The Daily Mail have now confirmed that the deal to take Devine to Preston is worth £6m, which represents a huge outlay for the second-tier side.
The report explains that the Championship club will pay the fee to the North Londoners over multiple instalments rather than upfront.
Even more interestingly, the outlet claims that Spurs have added a clause whereby they would be entitled to 20 per cent of the profit from any future sale of Devine.
That means that if the midfielder makes a £25m transfer a few years down the line, Spurs would be owed a fifth of the £19m profit that Preston earned on the player.
Could Spurs follow a similar formula with Lucas Bergvall?
Devine is not the only youngster Tottenham have sold this summer while including a sell-on clause, with Spurs also retaining a 20 per cent sell-on clause on Luka Vuskovic, who is expected to complete a £50m move to Brighton.
One wonders if the Lilywhites will be contemplating a similar agreement for Lucas Bergvall, who is reportedly keen to leave Tottenham in search of regular game time.
According to some reports, Spurs are keen on getting a bidding war going for Bergvall, and could be waiting for more clubs to enter the auction.