In The Money: Tottenham should have cash to burn in January despite David Ornstein update on Financial Fair Play
Tottenham are more than likely going to be in a position where they need to sell before they can buy players in the January transfer window.
Spurs’ squad has been ravaged by injury and suspension issues in recent weeks, leading to Ange Postecoglou’s men losing four of their last five matches after previously going 10 unbeaten in the Premier League.
Many have pointed to Tottenham’s lack of strength in depth as being the main problem with the North London club not having many good back-up options for the likes of James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison.
Unfortunately, Spurs are unlikely to be in a position where they’re flush with cash as January approaches.
The Athletic journalist David Ornstein reports that the Premier League club has already spent a good chunk of the cash raised by selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in the summer while Everton’s 10-point deduction and allegations made against Manchester City and Chelsea are heightening the focus on Financial Fair Play.
There’s no suggestion Tottenham are coming close to breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules but, according to Ornstein, it’s something that will likely be on Daniel Levy’s mind as the clock ticks down to 1 January.
Writing on The Athletic website on Thursday (7 December), Ornstein said: “Like most Premier League clubs, not much. They spent a fair amount in anticipation of Harry Kane leaving and — as we’ve seen more sharply than ever of late — everyone is being extra vigilant to comply with profit and sustainability rules (PSR). So Tottenham and many of their rivals will have to be creative.
“Let’s see if they can shift some of the players they didn’t manage to in the summer; depending on what they recoup, that would create manoeuvrability — in terms of salary and squad space at the very least. I think ideally Spurs would like to bring in a centre-back and attacker, but it depends on multiple factors, including the above.
“There is the added complication of players like James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Manor Solomon returning from injury in due course and therefore signing replacements would leave them with too many players if/when everyone is fit… again, unless they can shift some out.”
Spurs don’t appear to be anywhere near to breaching any kind of financial rules in the Premier League due to how tight a ship Levy runs in North London.
Tottenham’s chairman has always been for greater control of spending among the footballing elite in England.
Prior to this season starting, since 2016, the club has spent £780million on transfers but has also recouped £390million and also increased their revenue massively by moving into the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, establishing themselves as one of the big six, reaching a Champions League final and becoming a massive brand worldwide.
In Spurs’ last set of accounts, they generated a revenue of £523million before tax and spent £403million on operating costs, meaning that something catastrophically bad would have to happen for them to start overspending on FFP.
If a club is making a profit – which Spurs are – there’s nothing to worry about, so it’s strange that Ornstein would report that the club has one eye on the FFP situation ahead of January.
It might not be the fact that Tottenham are worried by developments at Goodison Park, the Etihad or Stamford Bridge. It’s probably that they’re concerned about their own financial state and want to continue bringing in an overall profit.
That’s fine but Tottenham won’t ever progress to the next level unless they look at taking the occasional hit.
And in this season more than ever, where Man City are struggling and Arsenal and Liverpool aren’t too far ahead at the top, Spurs could do with strengthening to the point where they can maintain the run of form that saw them start the season so well.
Levy has to break the mould here. Show some faith in Postecoglou and give him the money to go and buy the tools he needs to compete seriously for a major honour before this season is over.
There might not be a better opportunity for a while.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs are set for a cash injection after FA news was confirmed.