Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Nice right back Youcef Atal.
Some may be familiar with English billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, and he has now added Ligue 1 side Nice to his portfolio having finally completed his takeover of the club.
Ratcliffe’s petrochemical company Ineos have finalised a £91million takeover of Nice (Daily Mail), and are now preparing a late trolley dash before the transfer deadline.
Lorient winger Alexis Claude-Maurice and Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg both attended last night’s game against Marseille ahead of signing for Nice, and more should follow.
Not only will it help Nice in terms of signing players, but it may put them in a stronger position to keep their star players – including Youcef Atal.
The Daily Mail claimed earlier this month that Tottenham were back in for Atal, and Soccer Link claimed the fee would have been a minimum of €30million (£27million).
Now though, Ratcliffe’s takeover means Nice won’t be under immediate pressure to sell their star right back, and may be in a position to hike the price up for the Algerian ace.
The 23-year-old starred last season with six goals, and his pace and attacking play is exactly what Spurs need having failed to truly replace Kyle Walker over the last two years.
Atal is ideal for Pochettino’s style of play, showing the speed and energy that made Tottenham so dangerous with Walker in the side, and a January move wouldn’t be a surprise given that summer interest.
The fear will be that Atal’s price tag will suddenly shoot up, with Ratcliffe seemingly having big ambitions for this Nice side – and convincing Nice to sell mid-season may have suddenly become a much more difficult task.
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