Speaking on The Last Word on Spurs YouTube channel, Ben Jacobs has been talking up a potential swap deal that could see Pervis Estupinan end up joining Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have been linked with Estupinan for a little while now, and they could end up getting their man in a part-exchange deal that would see Giovani Lo Celso join Villarreal.
The Argentine, of course, spent last season out on loan with The Yellow Submarine, helping them to a Champions League semi-final, and understandably, they want the midfielder back.
However, with Villarreal not being flush with cash, they may have to offer a player in exchange, and Jacobs says that there’s been a suggestion that Estupinan could go the other way.
Unfortunately though, as with many swap deals, this may not be the most straightforward transfer of the summer.
What’s been said?
Jacobs shared what he knows about this potential part-exchange deal.
“There’s some suggestion that Estupinan will go the other way but swap deals are often problematic. There are reports that it may not be a straight cash deal, but the reason for that is that £12m is much lower than Tottenham’s valuation of Lo Celso. Villarreal’s first offer needs to be, I would say, £15m minimum, but Spurs would argue he’s a £20m player, but if it’s £12m plus a player then it can take it a little bit closer,” Jacobs said.
“Unai Emery doesn’t want to lose the player and actually if you have £12m plus the player it’s miles over that £20m valuation. They will be reluctant to do it that way. It will be intriguing to see how the clubs value these two players.”
“Estupinan is genuinely a player, because of how dynamic he is at full-back, that Antonio Conte thinks could fit into the system, but my understanding is that this swap deal could be quite problematic.”
Not easy
Swap deals are often spoken about hypothetically, but when it comes to actually getting them done it’s so complicated.
Internal valuations, wages, transfer amortisation and FFP make these deals incredibly complex from an accountancy point of view, and very often they don’t make sense on that front.
Of course, that isn’t to say that they’re impossible, but the reality is that these deals aren’t easy to get over the line.
Spurs already have the likes of Sergio Reguilon, Ryan Sessegnon and Ivan Perisic at the club in that left-wing-back spot, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if they didn’t pursue this Estupinan move.
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