Spurs chairman's handling of Gareth Bale transfer means Arsenal face a race against time to land Madrid targets Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil
Daniel Levy has claimed a transfer-market triumph for Spurs by leaving Arsenal with a race against time to sign Real Madrid’s cast-offs.
Tottenham’s chairman added extra spice to tomorrow's North London derby by delaying confirmation of Gareth Bale’s £86million move, despite the Welshman agreeing personal terms with Madrid yesterday. It means, far from landing the likes of Angel Di Maria or Mesut Ozil from Madrid, Arsenal are set to welcome misfit Nicklas Bendtner back to the squad.
Boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed he is trying to tie up some late deals. He said: “I am confident of bringing players in. We have financial potential but we will still pay the right price.”
The Gunners’ potential frustrations are in contrast to a hugely successful window for Spurs who have spent the Bale money on seven players.
Real accused Levy of “dragging his feet” with the deal agreed 10 days ago – ruling out any chance of Arsenal capturing Di Maria before yesterday’s deadline to register new players for this weekend’s games.
It also means the Gunners face a fight to sign either the Argentinian, striker Karim Benzema or his Madrid team-mate Ozil who, despite his claims he wants to stay, is also out of favour.
Last night Tottenham took their spending past the £100million mark with the signings of £8.5m Vlad Chiriches, £11.5m Christian Eriksen and £26m Erik Lamela.
Arsenal beat Spurs to a Champions League spot last season. But Spurs know that the Gunners are severely weakened with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukasz Podolski both out injured.
If they hold off on Bale until Deadline Day, Arsenal would have to complete negotiations swiftly, and ensure the deal is entered into FIFA’s Transfer Matching System by 11pm on Monday night.
The cut-off in England is 11pm because other countries are an hour ahead.
The Transfer Matching System demands that both parties enter the details of the deal before international clearance can be granted.
Clubs running late on transfers are also able to complete a ‘Deal Sheet’ to state a deal has been reached over a player. It must be signed by all parties but it is understood to cover lateness of only a few hours, no longer.
UEFA president Michel Platini last night branded Bale’s world record fee a “robbery”. He says the deal shows the market is now just a way for agents, clubs and owners to make money.
“In terms of the morality, this question was being asked when Maradona was transferred,” he said. “People said ‘wow, five million for a player.’ Then it was Mr Zidane and then Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I think transfers are a robbery – when I was playing every time I had finished a contract I was free to go wherever I went. I think it’s an opportunity for a lot of people to make a lot of money.
“Today a player is more a product than a footballer with a whole pile of people trying to get commissions. I think we and FIFA should think about that.”
Mirror
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