It looks like Spurs fans can relax for now, with star midfielder Dele Alli likely staying in North London despite interest from Raiola and Mendes.
According to reports, Dele Alli should remain a Spurs player for the considerable future. His current contract was signed in 2016 and will last until 2022, but with his rising value and with inflation in the transfer market, he’s set to negotiate another extension that will include a pay raise.
Earlier in the year, Mirror claimed that the new deal would be worth £40,000,000. The extended deal would help to fend off clubs like Barcelona, who see the 21-year-old as a long-term superstar who would be worth a large transfer fee right now. In fact, it’s safe to say that Alli could play for any team in the world, if he decided to leave Tottenham.
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Those factors have led to a number of transfer rumors, but that talk should be slowed down by the other decision that Alli has made.
After choosing not to bring back agent Rob Segal, there’s been competition for his signature between top agents Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes, who both would like another star client.
Both agents, however, were rejected by Alli, who chose to have his contract negotiations handled by his lawyer, Ian Lynam. Alli is still undecided on an agent, and if he were to go with Mendes or Raiola, it would lead to even more transfer speculation.
Mendes has negotiated transfers and contracts for players such as James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ederson, and Diego Costa, along with many others from top European leagues. Raiola, on the other hand, gained worldwide fame for making £25,000,000 from the Paul Pogba transfer last summer.
The thing that the agents have in common is encouraging their players to go for higher paying moves, which indirectly give the agents more money through agent fees from the transfers. The fact that Alli has chosen to negotiate a new contract via his lawyer and not one of these super agents says a lot about his intentions, and should give Spurs fans a reason to let go of their worries, at least for a bit.
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When it’s transfer season again, Alli will be one of the most talked about players. However, it’s harder to go for someone who recently signed a long-term contract, and the pay raise would help to prevent another club from swooping in with a higher paying offer. If the new contract does happen soon, it means Tottenham’s current core may just stay together longer than the transfer rumors would indicate.