Levy is ready to break the bank to keep Alli
TOTTENHAM’S performance levels have gone through the roof under Mauricio Pochettino. Now expect the club’s wage structure to do the same.
At White Hart Lane, 2016 was the year of the new contract. Photographs of Pochettino dressed in a black suit and tie with an arm wrapped round a player became commonplace as Tottenham tied down their top players.
For now, last year’s contract drive has ended any uncertainty over players’ futures. The next batch of renewals, though, will provide the true test of Spurs’ ambition.
Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris’s recently signed deals saw Tottenham gain membership of the ‘ 100 Club’. Chairman Daniel Levy initially showed a reluctance to go over the £100,000-per-week barrier but the fierce negotiator relented.
But soon enough, Tottenham’s players, or more pertinently their representatives, will be pushing the club to join the 150 or even the 200 Club.
More than ever, Tottenham are on a firm financial footing and there is a willingness to push their wage boundaries further. If Levy feels a player warrants £150,000 per week, the belief within the club is that he’ll pay it.
Levy structures player contracts so that they are incentive driven.
For example, Toby Alderweireld has a basic wage of £52,000 a week but he receives an extra £5,000 per start plus a bonus of £260,000 for Champions League qualification.
Tottenham are confident they have the capacity to meet the financial needs of their star players, so long as they continue to perform.
Establishing themselves as a European heavyweight is key. The revenue generated from Champions League and domestic success, particularly in terms of sponsorship, would help ensure the club can take their wage structure to the next level.
The income potential from the pending move to a new £750million stadium is massive, with talks over naming rights under way.
But, while there’s a willingness to raise the wage ceiling, will it be enough to compete with Europe’s elite?
The club’s financial muscle will be put to the test when the time comes to negotiate Dele Alli’s next contract.
The England star signed a six-year deal in September, taking his wages to £55,000 a week. But Real Madrid are hovering and Alli’s wage would treble with a move to Spain.
Tottenham insist they have no intention of selling their best players — but they said the same of Gareth Bale.
Levy tried to keep Bale, offering him the biggest contract in the club’s history, but Spurs simply could not compete with Real Madrid. This time, though, things look different.
Real are a European giant but Tottenham are going places under Pochettino, who insists his players are motivated by medals, not money.
They are also in a position of strength regarding Alli, given his existing deal doesn’t expire until 2022.
Spurs chiefs have tried to gauge Real’s interest in recent weeks and they believe the Spanish giants have not identified Alli as an immediate target. But why would Real confess to that? The last time they did they had to spend £85m on Bale.
How long can Spurs keep a player of Alli’s calibre while he earns only £55,000 per week? Raheem Sterling, just two years older, earns £180,000 at Manchester City.
You’d forgive Alli for casting an envious eye at his England colleague next time they’re training together at St George’s Park.
Alli is said to be happy to stay at Tottenham in the longterm, provided they match his ambitions.
But can Spurs match his ambitions on and off the pitch? Because Real certainly can.
Alli isn’t the only player attracting interest. Kane, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are getting admiring glances from Premier League rivals, while Sportsmail understands Harry Winks, who only made his Premier League debut in August, has recently been watched by Europe’s leading clubs.
That’s the problem with success: someone else always wants a slice of it.