Deadline day is here. For Tottenham Hotspur, it might turn out to be a busy one. Clinton N’Jie is on his way to France to finalize the swap of him and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou. Pau Lopez still hasn’t been announced and, supposedly, hasn’t actually made the decision on whether to accept his loan move or not. But all of this and our previous signings would get dwarfed if this rumor became reality.
Bild Sport are reporting that Tottenham are ready to break the club record fee with a £38m bid for Schalke 04 star, Max Meyer. The primary article is behind a paywall, but just about every publication has linked this story, so let’s look at The Express to see what this is about.
And now according to German newspaper Bild, Tottenham are ready to make a £38m bid for the midfielder.
The report adds Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel would consider accepting the huge offer for Meyer even if he does not have time to bring in a replacement.
Spurs are apparently ready to hand the German a 5-year deal worth £7m per year.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: £38m would shatter the club record that was set by the purchase of Erik Lamela back in the summer of 2013. This alone makes the rumor unlikely, but while Bild aren’t exactly the most reliable source out there, they did get the Nabil Bentaleb to Schalke story correct. We’ll give credit where it’s due.
Second, Christian Heidel actually admitting that he’d accept that kind of offer puts this above bat country levels. Schalke aren’t exactly in the greatest of shape financially, though they’re better than the were a couple seasons ago. A £38m injection of cash would definitely help their finances, and with the Premier League clubs flush with cash from the TV deals, he’d be crazy to turn it down.
That leaves the final part of this: The wages. £7m a year, if it’s post-tax, would put the contract at £135k/week, which would make Meyer the highest paid player on the senior squad. If it’s pre-tax, it makes a lot more sense and brings it down to around £70k/week if the tax calculator I used is accurate.
For those of you who were hoping the Isco deal worked out, this would be better in my opinion. You are certainly free to disagree with me, but Meyer is 20 years old and has loads of talent with a ceiling he hasn’t reached yet. He would be an invaluable asset to the attacking band and give Pochettino more flexibility.
Now, pumping the brakes on this rumor, this more than likely isn’t going to happen. Deadline day deals aren’t a regular thing for Tottenham. In 2012, the club did pull the double swoop of our current captain, Hugo Lloris, and U.S. International Clint Dempsey. Before that, we can point to Rafael van der Vaart in 2010, but even that was only for £8m.
If you want something to get excited about on this final day of the window, this is it. However, temper your expectations. If we add up all the comings and goings (including N’Koudou) we’re about even right now on transfers. To pull the trigger on this would be quite unexpected, but very welcome.