Japhet Tanganga in talks for new Tottenham contract and substantial pay raise

I started off the day on Carty Free by writing about Jan Vertonghen and making you all cry. Only makes sense that I end the day by hopefully making you smile. There’s a new report in the Daily Mail that suggests that Tottenham Hotspur are ready to reward young utility defender Japhet Tanganga with a new contract, and a substantial increase in pay.

According to the report, Tanganga is in negotiations to improve upon his existing contract, his first one as a professional, that would increase his weekly salary from the existing £1k/wk to £15,000/wk, plus incentives that could take it closer to £20k/wk before it’s all said and done. The Mail also writes that Tanganga would be set for another incremental contract improvement a little ways down the road. It’s not a done deal yet, but it sounds like it will be soon.

Look, we know that £15k/wk is peanuts compared to what a lot of professional footballers make in this age of spiraling wage bills, but if you’re a young professional who just broke into the first team and someone offers you 15x your current salary, who says no?

Spurs have always been pretty savvy with their salaries — Daniel Levy has mastered the art of keeping wages low compared to Tottenham’s rivals, but using incremental wage increases tied to peformance to keep players happy and motivated. This seems to be right in that zone as well.

And if Tanganga continues to improve in the years to come, you can bet your behind that he’s not going to be staying at that 15k/wk figure for long.

Go on, #TangGang. Get paid.