Matt Doherty, the Irish right-back completed a move to Atletico Madrid from Tottenham on deadline day.
This transfer came as a surprise to many, including Doherty himself, as he was only informed about his departure from Spurs 24 hours before the transfer deadline as reported by The Athletic.
According to the report, this sudden change of events took place just a couple of days after Doherty was told by the club that they ‘had no plans to let him go.’.
It is reported that the reason behind this sudden transfer was due to the recent changes in FIFA rules, which states that a club can only have eight players out on loan. The rule states: “From 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, a club may have a maximum of eight professionals loaned out and eight loaned in at any given time during a season.”
After the loan move of Djed Spence to Rennes was completed, Spurs realised they had reached their loan limit and hence, had to terminate the player’s contract.
Doherty joined Spurs from Wolves for €16.80m in 2020, but his time at the club was plagued by injuries.
Despite this, he still managed to play 71 games for the club, scoring three goals and providing nine assists.
The transfer to Atletico Madrid was made possible due to the excellent relationship between the two clubs.
This relationship is expected to continue, as the latest reports suggest that Spurs will use their connections with the Spanish club in order to sign Yannick Carrasco and Jan Oblak in the future.
On deadline day, Spurs also signed Pedro Porro, who is expected to become their first-choice right wing-back, with Emerson Royal as backup.
