‘Most surprising’: Tottenham told they’ve done something just as shocking as Man City
Jeff Stelling, a presenter for Sky Sports, believes that Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to release Matt Doherty was as shocking as Manchester City’s decision to loan out Joao Cancelo.
There were quite a few surprises in store for us during the January transfer window, but nobody anticipated that the Premier League champions would loan one of their best players from recent years to one of their Champions League rivals.
That is precisely what they did with Cancelo, and Stelling believes Spurs did the same thing.
It appeared likely that Tottenham would release either Emerson Royal or Matt Doherty if they acquired Pedro Porro from Sporting Lisbon.
Fabio Paratici secured a deal to acquire the Spaniard on the final day of the transfer window, with Doherty expected to join Atletico Madrid on loan to make room.
The news that the defender was joining Diego Simeone’s squad on a permanent basis after Spurs terminated his contract and released him was the only thing that was surprising.
Stelling considers this to be as shocking as Manchester City’s decision to loan out Cancelo.
He said on Sky Sports, as quoted by HITC: “I said that was the most surpassing move (Joao Cancelo leaving Man City for Bayern Munich) of the transfer window.
“Actually, Matt Doherty to Atletico Madrid might have been. Pretty much on a par.”
Not necessarily, Tottenham desired to terminate Doherty’s contract. The Athletic reported that Spurs informed the Irishman just days before his departure that they had no intention of letting him leave the club.
However, after the arrival of Porro, it became abundantly clear that there was no room for Doherty. Consequently, a loan transfer was approved, but Tottenham then encountered another obstacle.
Under FIFA regulations, a club may only loan out eight senior players. Sergio Reguilon, Harry Winks, Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, and Destiny Udogye had already left Tottenham for other teams. (90min)
Doherty’s loan move was not legally permissible, so Tottenham had to void his contract and allow him to leave for free.
‘Most surprising’: Tottenham told they’ve done something just as shocking as Man City
