Record fee demanded of Tottenham as club look to make top dollar from devastating striker sale
Tottenham have reportedly been told they will have to pay the record fee for a Belgian Pro League player if they are to sign Gift Orban from Gent this summer.
Spurs have been on the lookout for a replacement for star striker Harry Kane since he finally departed the club at the beginning of August. Indeed, he left for Bayern Munich, and took 280 Tottenham goals with him.
It’ll be a tough task to replace that sort of output, but Ange Postecoglou is eager to do so. Tottenham have reportedly held talks over both Gent striker Orban and Chelsea outcast Lukaku, though it appears West Ham might beat them to the latter.
As such, Orban looks to be the top option – having already scored six goals in six games this season – and after the reports stated Spurs were to “accelerate” discussions, they’ve now learned what they’ll have to pay.
A report from Football Insider states Gent will demand a Belgian Pro League record fee. That was broken most recently last summer, when AC Milan paid approximately £31.1million for Charles de Ketelaere.
While the report actually states Gent want between £30-40million, it’s suggested they’ll look towards the top end of that, as they are ‘in a strong position to demand sides smash that record’.
While Tottenham are seemingly the furthest forward in terms of talks, the report also mentions interest from Fulham. The Cottagers have just made a record fee of their own – £46million for the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
As such, Gent ‘are aware both Tottenham and Fulham have significant funds at their disposal’. Of course, Tottenham received an initial fee north of £86million for Kane, so could pay a bit more than Fulham.
However, that Fulham have definitively got more than the top end of what the Belgian outfit want for Orban means they’re not in the worst position.
It would take a lot for them to hijack Tottenham, though. The north Londoners in a better position, have more money to spend and would be a more attractive move for the striker.
They’re also already in talks, and if they lodge a bid that Gent are happy with, there’s no reason for the Belgian side to wait and see if another comes in.
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