You can say this about Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer market- they are very well rested. After not signing a player in 18 months (or 517 days), the north London club broke out of the lay-off with a vengeance today, announcing the arrival of not just one, but two players.
The first is Jack Clarke, an 18-year-old Leeds United winger who signed a four-year deal to 2023. He will return to Leeds on loan for the 2019-20 season. The purchase of his contract is reportedly worth £10 million. The second player, and we covered him in detail at this post, is Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, was heavily linked with a move to Spurs all last month.
? Jack Clarke at Hotspur Way.
#WelcomeJack ?? #COYS pic.twitter.com/uo4IuAzQfB— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 2, 2019
“I’m delighted to join Tottenham and in the short term I’ll be giving my all to hopefully help Leeds win promotion,” reads a club statement attributed to the Leeds United Young Player of the Year.
“Obviously (Mauricio) is one of the best coaches in the world, a top, top manager. Hopefully he can help me push on and progress myself. I just want to carry on from where I left off at Leeds, kick on even more and then hopefully (following his loan) make an impact big enough to be in and around the team.”
This transaction is already being compared to White Hart Lane’s plucking of Dele Alli, and then allowing him to develop at MK Dons a couple years ago. Obviously, Clarke is really going to have to develop into a star in order to justify a lofty comparison such as that.
Delighted to have signed for @spursofficial and very excited for what the future brings. But for now, it’s back to @leedsunited to help them get back to where they belong??#MOT #COYS pic.twitter.com/7kbmXX5vtP
— Jack Clarke (@JackClarke09) July 2, 2019
Prior to today, the last Tottenham Hotspur signing was forward Lucas Moura, who moved to north London from Paris Saint-Germain for £23 million on January 31, 2018.
The club statement from Leeds United on the Jack Clarke transfer reads: “The 18-year-old will return to training with Marcelo Bielsa’s side with immediate effect.”
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