Football
Spurs make £85m swoop for Philippe Coutinho and Paulo Dybala
Gary Jacob
August 7 2019, 12:01am, The Times
Coutinho earns more than £200,000 a week, which would make him the top earner if he were to join SpursJOSE JORDAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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Tottenham Hotspur have launched a remarkable double bid to sign Philippe Coutinho and Paulo Dybala before the transfer window closes tomorrow.
They have made an offer to sign Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and hope to agree a £65 million deal with Juventus for Dybala, though his move to north London is complicated by his image rights being owned by a third party, which was one of the issues that hindered Manchester United’s attempt to sign him. The Argentina forward did not want to go to United, but Tottenham will hope that the offer of Champions League football helps their cause. Agreeing personal terms may be tricky — Dybala, 25, wanted as much as £350,000 a week from United.
Mauricio Pochettino worked briefly with Coutinho at Espanyol in 2012 and has spoken to him about the chance to make a surprise return to the Premier League. The Tottenham manager is desperate to bring in an attacking midfielder as Christian Eriksen could leave this month, and Pochettino faces a race to try to complete the signing before the window closes at 5pm tomorrow.
Barcelona paid up to £142 million to Liverpool for Coutinho in January last year and their preference is to sell him. However, they have also offered him on loan to a number of Premier League clubs for a fee of upwards of £21 million. Sources in Spain have said that Spurs lead the race and Barcelona have tried to tempt Manchester United into a deal.
Coutinho, 27, has said he would not want to play for anyone in England except Liverpool, who did not insert a clause in the sale to give them the first option to re-sign him, but the player would seem to have little choice as Barcelona want to free up wages to try to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. The French club initially showed an interest in Coutinho but have since cooled.
The Brazilian’s move from Liverpool was one of the most expensive transfers of all time. Barcelona paid £105 million up front with the rest in add-ons. He signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with a buyout clause of £368 million. Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for £8.5 million in January 2013. Coutinho earns more than £200,000 a week, which would make him the top earner if he were to join Spurs, above Harry Kane.
It has often been Tottenham’s way to try to do their business late in the transfer window but there has been frustration that the club has not built on their success of reaching the Champions League final in June. Spurs broke their transfer record to sign Tanguy Ndombélé for £55 million last month but have failed to get other deals over the line.
Tottenham hope to agree a £65 million deal with Juventus for DybalaALBERTO LINGRIA/REUTERS
Spurs have been trying to complete a £54 million deal for Giovani Lo Celso, 23, since the end of last season, but with Real Betis insisting that the midfielder’s buyout clause of £88 million is met in full, Tottenham have looked at other options. They have also agreed personal terms with Bruno Fernandes, 24, of Sporting Lisbon.
Pochettino is faced with selling Eriksen for a cut-price deal as the midfielder has not ruled out seeing out the final year of his contract and leaving as a free agent at the end of the season. United have been negotiating with the 27-year-old’s representatives, although Tottenham’s preference would be to sell him abroad. Tottenham have said there has been no approach from United.
Tottenham are confident of being able to sign Ryan Sessegnon for less than £25 million from Fulham. The winger is in the final year of his deal at the Sky Bet Championship club.
Spurs make £85m swoop for Philippe Coutinho and Paulo Dybala
Gary Jacob
August 7 2019, 12:01am, The Times
Coutinho earns more than £200,000 a week, which would make him the top earner if he were to join SpursJOSE JORDAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Share
Save
Tottenham Hotspur have launched a remarkable double bid to sign Philippe Coutinho and Paulo Dybala before the transfer window closes tomorrow.
They have made an offer to sign Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and hope to agree a £65 million deal with Juventus for Dybala, though his move to north London is complicated by his image rights being owned by a third party, which was one of the issues that hindered Manchester United’s attempt to sign him. The Argentina forward did not want to go to United, but Tottenham will hope that the offer of Champions League football helps their cause. Agreeing personal terms may be tricky — Dybala, 25, wanted as much as £350,000 a week from United.
Mauricio Pochettino worked briefly with Coutinho at Espanyol in 2012 and has spoken to him about the chance to make a surprise return to the Premier League. The Tottenham manager is desperate to bring in an attacking midfielder as Christian Eriksen could leave this month, and Pochettino faces a race to try to complete the signing before the window closes at 5pm tomorrow.
Barcelona paid up to £142 million to Liverpool for Coutinho in January last year and their preference is to sell him. However, they have also offered him on loan to a number of Premier League clubs for a fee of upwards of £21 million. Sources in Spain have said that Spurs lead the race and Barcelona have tried to tempt Manchester United into a deal.
Coutinho, 27, has said he would not want to play for anyone in England except Liverpool, who did not insert a clause in the sale to give them the first option to re-sign him, but the player would seem to have little choice as Barcelona want to free up wages to try to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. The French club initially showed an interest in Coutinho but have since cooled.
The Brazilian’s move from Liverpool was one of the most expensive transfers of all time. Barcelona paid £105 million up front with the rest in add-ons. He signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with a buyout clause of £368 million. Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for £8.5 million in January 2013. Coutinho earns more than £200,000 a week, which would make him the top earner if he were to join Spurs, above Harry Kane.
It has often been Tottenham’s way to try to do their business late in the transfer window but there has been frustration that the club has not built on their success of reaching the Champions League final in June. Spurs broke their transfer record to sign Tanguy Ndombélé for £55 million last month but have failed to get other deals over the line.
Tottenham hope to agree a £65 million deal with Juventus for DybalaALBERTO LINGRIA/REUTERS
Spurs have been trying to complete a £54 million deal for Giovani Lo Celso, 23, since the end of last season, but with Real Betis insisting that the midfielder’s buyout clause of £88 million is met in full, Tottenham have looked at other options. They have also agreed personal terms with Bruno Fernandes, 24, of Sporting Lisbon.
Pochettino is faced with selling Eriksen for a cut-price deal as the midfielder has not ruled out seeing out the final year of his contract and leaving as a free agent at the end of the season. United have been negotiating with the 27-year-old’s representatives, although Tottenham’s preference would be to sell him abroad. Tottenham have said there has been no approach from United.
Tottenham are confident of being able to sign Ryan Sessegnon for less than £25 million from Fulham. The winger is in the final year of his deal at the Sky Bet Championship club.
