Tottenham player having second thoughts about transfer and could scupper the deal

There's trouble in Tottenham transfer-land. On the heels of Friday's report that a transfer was nearly complete that would send Benjamin Stambouli to Watford, now fresh news that the French midfielder is getting cold feet about making the move.

Apparently, Spurs and Watford have agreed to a £5.5m deal that would send Stambouli to Vicarage Road to join Etienne Capoue. This is remarkable in and of itself considering he was signed for just over £4m from Montpellier, which means, if true, Daniel Levy is about to pocket a surplus of £1.5m for a player that barely featured for Spurs last season. It's not clear why Stambouli would be dragging his feet over signing the paperwork, though. Maybe Capoue said something to make him reconsider. The Standard got quotes from Capoue, who confirmed that he's spoken to Benji but wouldn't discuss details. "Yes he is a friend and I’ve spoke with him about it," said Capoue, "but I can’t talk about what was said. It is personal."

There's not much to go on in that quote. Stambouli clearly isn't favored by Mauricio Pochettino, but Watford have also just signed Capoue and Valon Behrami, so there's plenty of competition at the center of midfield for minutes. It could be that the Behrami signing has spooked Benji and he's holding out for a deal that will guarantee him first team minutes.

There's still plenty of transfer window left, so if Stambouli pulls the plug on this deal there's still time to get another move in place. I don't think we'll see Benji at Spurs this season, regardless of what happens to this deal.