Tottenham Hotspur are looking for new signings this summer but still need to settle one signing from the 2023 summer transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou can be encouraged by his debut campaign at Tottenham Hotspur, securing qualification for the Europa League.
The Tottenham boss is very much used to winning though, having clinched league titles in both Japan and Scotland before heading to North London.
That means Tottenham need to invest in some key signings this summer in order to strengthen the squad to Postecoglou’s liking.
A number of positions need attention this summer and Tottenham must be smart in the market given that there won’t be Champions League money to spend.
Fans will be glued to transfer rumours all summer long but may actually find that one deal from 2023 becomes a real saga.
Shakhtar Donetsk chief slams Tottenham Hotspur
Whilst all the focus is on the 2024 summer transfer window, Tottenham have some work to do on a 2023 move.
Tottenham landed Manor Solomon, handing the winger a five-year contract after a loan spell at Fulham.
Injuries meant that Solomon spent most of the season on the sidelines and it’s unclear just what his future holds.
Tottenham have been at odds over Solomon’s move ever since he joined, having taken advantage of the winger’s situation with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Solomon suspended his contract with the Ukrainian side amid the ongoing conflict there, allowing him to move on to Tottenham.
Shakhtar feel that they should be compensated for Solomon’s move, even if it just means taking a percentage of a future transfer fee.
Shakhtar CEO Serhiy Palkin has now told The Telegraph that he is ‘feeling very bad’ towards Tottenham right now, stating that he can’t believe Spurs would ‘behave like this’.
Palkin feels that Tottenham are taking advantage of Shakhtar whilst suggesting that Solomon is actually worth around £21million.
Tottenham have only offered a 10% sell-on clause, some way short of what Palkin wants, and the Shakhtar chief hinted at legal action against Tottenham – the same steps being taken against Lyon over winger Tete.
“I am feeling very bad towards Tottenham,” said Palkin. “I cannot believe this kind of club with a huge history – not just European level, world level – that they can behave like this. From my point of view, it’s not acceptable behaviour. They have taken advantage of the war. Maybe if this was a very small club in Europe with not much money or whatever, maybe I could understand it. But Tottenham? Tottenham. How is it possible?”
“It’s very strange that everybody says we are one football family, when one of the top clubs receives a player free of charge and the market value of this player is up to €25 million (£21.15 million). We invested in this player and developed this player for this kind of value. I even said to Tottenham: ‘Guys, I don’t need money for him now. Let’s have some kind of sell-on fee in the future like 30 or 40 per cent. That would be enough for us.’ But they said: ‘No, no, we cannot give you. We’ll give you 10 per cent.’ I said: ‘Guys, that’s not serious.’ Giving us 10 per cent is not respectful. You behave not like the football family. You behave like a robber on the road. It’s not correct. Therefore, at this moment we will see the next steps.”
“We have stopped any negotiations with Tottenham. We are concentrating on a court case against Lyon and we will see the result of that and after that we will make a decision about what kind of steps we will take against Tottenham,” he added.
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Manor Solomon row could dent Heorhiy Sudakov hopes
Tottenham really need to get this Solomon situation sorted out; it’s a rather ugly turn of events after Tottenham welcomed Shakhtar in a pre-season friendly last summer.
Tottenham donated money to the Shakhtar Social foundation and relations between the two clubs seemed strong.
The Solomon saga has changed that though, with Palkin’s anger now abundantly clear.
This isn’t what Tottenham want to be dealing with right now, not only due to the public perception from such a situation, but also because Spurs actually want another Shakhtar player.
Midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov has become a key Tottenham target with his agent even visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April.
Shakhtar want around £60million for Sudakov but Palkin may be reluctant to do business with Tottenham after this rather unsavoury episode.
Paying that kind of money for Sudakov may leave some fans worried anyway, especially after Mykhailo Mudryk’s struggles at Chelsea.
Money talks and Tottenham could still strike a deal, but Palkin’s explosive rant against Tottenham leaves a deal for Sudakov in some doubt this summer.