DONE DEAL: Tottenham announce permanent signing of Dejan Kulusevski

Tottenham Hotspur made their first official signing of the 2023 summer transfer window, and it’s a face that’s been very familiar to Spurs fans over the past 18 months. The club announced that it has officially made Dejan Kulusevski a permanent Spur, purchasing the player outright from Juventus for a fee of €30m (£25.5m). Deki signs a contract through 2028.

In some ways this is the most appropriate way to begin a new era of Tottenham Hotspur. Kulusevski has been at Spurs on loan from Juventus for the past 18 months, but it took a little bit of extra negotiation to get him here. Spurs originally had a purchase obligation to buy him for a larger fee if they qualified for the Champions League this season. They... didn’t do that, so the obligation turned into a €35m option.

Spurs spent the past week negotiating with Juventus, with which they have a good working relationship, to knock off a small amount of the option fee, and full agreement was reached yesterday for €30m, a €5m discount. We’re not 100% sure what the arrangement was to reduce the fee, but Spurs probably adjusted the amortization schedule to put a little more money up front in exchange for a slightly lower fee. Whatever the details, Spurs always fully intended to buy Kulusevski, so it didn’t hurt anything to ask Juventus for a little friends-and-family discount.

This feels good, and right. Deki has been wonderful for Spurs since his arrival, though he has joined during a difficult time in the club’s recent history. Now he’s fully COYS and here for the next 5 years. It’s awesome.

Welcome (back) to Tottenham Hotspur, Dejan Kulusevski! Gimme gimme gimme a ginger from Sweden!