Tottenham Hotspur added the French midfielder to their ranks.
Early on transfer deadline day Tottenham Hotspur were linked with a move for Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko…at least until it was made clear the Magpies would accept nothing less than £30million for the France international.
At that point, unsurprisingly, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is said to have backed away from the deal, unwilling to part with such a sizeable amount in the final few hours of the window.
With time running out Everton threw their hat – and their cash – into the ring and suddenly, with Sissoko seemingly on his way to Merseyside, Levy loosened the purse strings and the Frenchman performed a dramatic about-turn.
It was a bizarre situation, suggesting the Tottenham chairman was always holding out for a late move but more in the hope that Newcastle would be forced to reduce their asking price or risk keeping an unhappy player.
Everton’s big-money bid changed that, forcing Levy to do something he could have done hours earlier – simply pay what Newcastle wanted.
It made for dramatic television – the kind of late night twist deadline day has all too rarely despite the hyperbole that greets each and every one – but it also suggested Levy had been, if not out-Levy’d, then certainly forced into a corner he had not previously envisaged.
Most interestingly of all though, the Tottenham supremo did not walk away; instead he signed the cheque.
Had he learned that being overly cautious can have a negative effect on a football club pushing for the next level, did he want to deliver for manager Mauricio Pochettino or was he simply unwilling to miss out as he did with Saido Berahino last summer?
We may never know, but fair play to Levy for adapting to the situation when Tottenham fans and neutrals alike had assumed he was immovable.
After all, as Harry Redknapp told Talk Sport earlier in the day, if Levy is quoted £30million, he will start the bidding at £5million.
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