Report: Spurs make improved bid for Ryan Sessegnon

Tottenham Hotspur’s push for new signings has reached the final week. We’ve already had updates on Giovani Lo Celso and Bruno Fernandes today, so let’s throw in some news regarding the third target we’ve all been watching, Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham.

The teenager has been linked to a move to north London for well over a year now, and it’s kind of remarkable that he’s still at Fulham. Spurs had hoped Fulham missed promotion last year and push to buy him then, but it didn’t work out and he spent a season in the Premier League as a utility left flank player. Now that Fulham are back in the Championship, Spurs are making another run but the Cottagers have been stubborn, refusing any deal below £45m, which is crazy for a player with one year remaining on his contract.

Today, reports have surfaced that Spurs are offering £30m plus Josh Onomah to Fulham as their last ditch effort to buy him this window.

Tottenham have made an offer of £30 million ($36.4m) plus midfielder Josh Onomah for Fulham wideman Ryan Sessegnon.

Mauricio Pochettino regards the 19-year-old as one of his primary summer targets, and Goal can confirm the Champions League finalists are hopeful that their latest bid will be enough to secure Sessegnon’s signing ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.

One of the reasons there hasn’t been much information around the teenager is the hamstring injury he’s been nursing ever since the U-21 Euros. He tweaked it then and has been sidelined since. Scott Parker confirmed as much after their match this weekend. The ex-Spurs midfielder and current Fulham boss talked about the player’s future and the rumors.

“Future-wise, I’m not sure,” he told reporters at Oakwell “In terms of why he’s not here with us is due to the fact he’s coming back from a hamstring injury, which he’s rehabbing. He’s back on the grass jogging. He’s progressing well.

”Obviously I’ve read all the speculation, we’ve all seen the speculation over the summer, but to this point now there’s been nothing that would suggest to me that that [Sessegnon leaving] would be the case. ‘We’re planning with Ryan around, really.”

Parker has to be the company man when it comes to this situation. Sessegnon has one year remaining on his contract at Fulham want to do the yo-yo and get back to the Premier League, a feat that is not easy to accomplish after being relegated.

The belief is that, if Fulham stand pat and don’t sell Sessegnon this window, then they’re missing out on a lot of money because their only recourse is Tribunal, and that process is somewhat complicated.

For those that don’t know how it works, Tribunal is needed when a player under the age of 24 moves clubs having reached the end of his contract. The valuation of the player is determined by the tribunal and it is non-negotiable. The tribunal comes from the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) and is comprised of people within the sport that have handled contracts and transfers in the past. There are numerous factors that go into determining the tribunal fee, such as the level of the two clubs, how much the player has played, the new contract the player has signed, and so on.

The current record for a fee is held by Danny Ings. Liverpool acquired the player from Burnley on a free transfer, but since he met the criteria for tribunal, the PFCC determined that Liverpool had to pay £6.5m, plus an additional £1.5m in add-ons to Burnley. Prior to that, Daniel Sturridge’s move from Manchester City to Chelsea in 2009 carried a flat tribunal fee of £6.5m.

Getting back to Sessegnon, it feels like £30m plus Josh Onomah is too much to offer for a player who has one year remaining. Yes, the “English premium” is a factor and he’s still a teenager with a very high ceiling, but Fulham are asking for far too much. With Danny Rose all but set to stay and Ben Davies signing a new contract this summer, suddenly Spurs do not need Sessegnon this season all that much. We all want transfers to happen this week, but if this is the fee? I’d rather wait and try to get him via tribunal, given that the fee will be a fraction of what Fulham are demanding.

Sessegnon wants the move and we all know this, but one more season in the Championship to play out his contract isn’t the worst move in the world. He’ll play every match if he’s healthy to get more experience while Spurs can save some money and try to put that towards Giovani Lo Celso or Bruno Fernandes. If we’re going to get him this window, I’d want that fee to be a lot lower, but at this point? That’s a pipe dream.