Tottenham planning on activating release clause for homegrown defender.

We’re already looking ahead to the summer window for Tottenham Hotspur, one that is expected to be busy with a few ins and outs. While we’re all worried about the future of Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose, there are some smaller moves that Spurs could make which make sense. This brings us to an article in yesterday’s Telegraph that talks about one of those moves.

According to our old friend Matt Law, Spurs are considering triggering the paltry £3m buy-out clause of West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans if the Baggies are relegated. (Spoiler: They’re totally getting relegated.)

Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs thinking of triggering the £3million release clause in the contract of Jonny Evans if West Bromwich Albion are relegated.

With West Brom bottom of the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of safety, it seems certain that Evans will be available for a cut-price fee in the summer.

Manchester City had been interested in signing Evans, but have since spent £57m on Aymeric Laporte, while Arsenal failed with a January bid for the 30-year-old.

So why the interest in a 30-year-old defender for a club that is destined to go to the Championship at the end of the season? It’s honestly pretty simple.

1. He’s cheap. That release clause for a guy who can provide you with some decent depth makes perfect sense.
2. He counts as homegrown, which is far more important if you ask me. Spurs may lose Danny Rose this summer, which means they’d want to get at least one player who is homegrown to replace him. Now, that may be Luke Shaw, but why not get the guy who costs you next to nothing?
3. It shows that Spurs have a lot of faith in their current rotation. Jonny Evans would essentially be a “break glass in case of emergency” depth player. Verts and Sanchez are the obvious starters, and we know Dier can slot in if needed. Foyth is still growing but is showing promise. If you put a veteran like Evans into that group, the club is doing themselves two favors by trusting in their youth and bringing in another veteran from which those younger players can learn from.

Evans isn’t a mind-blowing signing, but if you watch him this season, he’s one of WBA’s few bright spots. He still has a knack for being in good positions and finding himself on a better team might bring out a year or two of better quality. Again, this isn’t a move that people are going to point at to put a club over the top, but it makes sense and is every sense of the words a Daniel Levy Special™.