Tottenham Hotspur decided to terminate the contract of Matt Doherty on deadline day.
The Republic of Ireland international was initially expected to join Atletico Madrid on a loan deal from Tottenham but the Londoners ended up terminating his contract because they had already sanctioned the maximum number of international loans as per the FIFA regulations.
As a result of that, they had to let the 31-year-old leave on a free transfer.
The decision has come as a surprise to many and Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge shared his reaction to the development as well.
Bridge termed the decision as ‘unbelievable’ live on Sky Sports and later tweeted about it stating that his head hurts in reaction to the decision by Tottenham.
Tottenham have mutually terminated Matt Doherty's contract to enable him to join Atletico Madrid 📝 pic.twitter.com/IGrPSWgh0d
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 31, 2023
My head hurts 😭 #THFC #DeadlineDay https://t.co/4fU55BUiaB
— Michael Bridge (@MichaelBridge_) January 31, 2023
Even if Tottenham could not find a permanent suitor for the defender in January, they should have kept him at the club until the end of the season and sold him for a nominal price.
Letting him leave on a free transfer seemed like a baffling decision for a club that could have used the proceeds from his sale to strengthen their squad.
The defender still had 18 months left on his contract and he is good enough to fetch a reasonable fee.
Aside from the financial loss, Doherty’s departure won’t hurt Tottenham. The Londoners managed to sign Pedro Porro from Sporting CP on the deadline day and the 23-year-old Spaniard is now expected to hold down the starting right-back spot in the side.
