Amid another chaotic season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there’s been a wealth of speculation, and Everton’s former chief, Keith Wyness, who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs, says that some of it could prove to be dangerous.
The suggestion is based on the club’s belief that it has lost control of the narrative regarding its transfer ambitions. Which is essentially true. No side wants to be dealing with rumours saying that all your best players are about to be sold because you’re going to be relegated. Wyness told Football Insider that the issue stems from the club then finding itself obligated to deliver.
“Spurs are putting out a lot of press stuff right now. They’re getting themselves connected with all sorts of top players if they’re going to come in, if they stay up. Micky van de Ven is going to re-sign. They’re giving such a positive spin on everything that they’re going to stay up.
“It’s almost like a distraction tactic, and they’re giving people hope. It’s dangerous. Micky van de Ven, look, he may do because Spurs will have to pay big money to keep players like that.
“They can’t have a repeat of this season, but the way that they’ve been trying to distract the fans, in my view, is very dangerous because they’re going to have to follow through on this for next season.”
In truth, there may be some perverse logic at play here, whereby if Spurs were to go down, then the undelivered promises would be lost in the confusion.
Micky’s salary is in the region of £90,000–£100,000 per week, and Tottenham would likely demand a significant fee, and reports have mentioned £60M–£100M+ if he were sold.
Micky van de Ven is contracted to Tottenham Hotspur until 30 June 2029, a six-year deal signed upon his arrival from Wolfsburg in August 2023.
