Tottenham whiff on Keita Balde, who signs with Monaco

If transfer rumors were to be believed, Tottenham Hotspur had an interest in signing Lazio attacking midfielder Keita Balde before the close of the transfer window on Thursday. Well, scratch another target off the list. Today AS Monaco reported that they have signed Balde from Lazio on a five year deal.

Monaco apparently only paid €30m for Balde, which is a shockingly low figure and one you would think would be firmly in Tottenham’s wheelhouse. However, it seems that Balde just wasn’t all that interested in coming to north London.

Previous reports had Balde set for a move to Juventus, but Lazio did not want to strengthen a rival Serie A club and Juventus backed away. Monaco, by contrast, are swimming in dough after selling off a number of the players that took them to the Champions League semifinals last season, and are just reloading with fresh talent. That, plus the tax-free wages in Monaco, make it not difficult to understand why it might be an attractive destination for him.

It’s frustrating, for sure, but when someone’s just not that into you sometimes it’s best just to move on.