Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy hits back at West Brom over Saido Berahino
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has come under fire over the club's poor run of form
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has hit back in his war of words with West Bromwich Albion over his club’s failure to secure a deal to sign Baggies striker Saido Berahino.
Spurs made a total of four bids to sign Berahino in the transfer window, with two of those being submitted and rejected in the final hours of Tuesday’s transfer window.
Berahino vented his fury at being denied the chance to join Tottenham with a twitter message that suggested he would not play for West Brom again and now Levy has given his side of the transfer saga, as he rejected claims made by Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace that Spurs made a moderate offer for the player and offered a deal that would see them pay the rest of the fee in staggered payments.
“We have never, as a club, spoken about another team’s players and I am not about to do so now. However, I do want to make a few general points regarding transfers,” said Levy on the Spurs website, as he turned his thoughts to the Berahino saga.
Saido Berahino has been given extra time off and will not have to report back for training until Monday
“Firstly, there is hardly a transfer concluded across Europe which doesn’t include staged payments. This is particularly so when significant amounts such as £20m-£30m are involved - players don’t come cheaply these days.
“Secondly, we do not make anything personal. None of the proposals, discussions or negotiations we undertake involve any personal elements or ego - everything we do is in the interest of what is best for our club.
“Thirdly, we never make anything public, particularly in the best interests of the players involved. Making aspects such as transfer requests public is wholly disrespectful to a player.”
Levy went on to suggest Spurs had done nothing wrong in their pursuit of Berahino, who has been punished by West Brom for the tweet that means he will struggle to play for the club again ahead of the January transfer window.
“I make no apologies for being ambitious for our club and looking to deliver future success for our fans,” added Levy.
“Our pragmatic player trading has been important in the way we have run the business of the club and in getting us to the position where we have now been able to start work on a new stadium - the one thing that has the ability to take this club to the next level of competitiveness.”
