Not smoke without fire. There was genuine distraction. I am relieved to see a public statement from his reps stating that he will not be doing anything with Mendes or Riola (well not during the season) and that his old long-time counsel will be handling his affairs for the foreseeable future. I am going to guess that someone has had a word with him in the last few weeks, because I noticed an upturn in his fight and attitude against Bournemouth last weekend. He is a brilliantly gifted and wonderful young player, thus I hope we will see him continue to work his way into top form. Maybe worth a cheeky bet to score the winner tomm?
This is my worry about getting Mendes (or Gestifute) clients into the club, though - it opens up the possibility of Mendes using that player to sway others into appointing him as their agent, and then it could well unravel from there. In this case, of course, the rumors about Mendes and Alli came despite the former having no representation at the club...but if the summer's transfer speculation was true and we were indeed pursuing Andre Gomes, then that could have been what brought that super-agent influence into the dressing room if it were pushed through.
When we tried approaching another Mendes client in Mourinho back in 2007 (after his first sacking at Chelsea), it was a much less dangerous situation, because we had no world class players worth wooing, really (apart from Berba, King and Keane, I suppose) - and if we got Mourinho in, then Mendes couldn't fudge around moving the players we *did* have to other clubs, because it would be f*cking over his own client in Mourinho. But, ten years on, letting Mendes into the club on the player side of things is a dangerous, dangerous prospect, especially given the age and potential of this squad.
Don't read the rags so was more than a bit perplexed by these posts. So for the benefit of others like me just back from Mars here's what Google found:
Jorge Mendes & Mino Raiola rejected by Tottenham star
By
Benjamin Newman on Saturday, October 21, 2017
Dele Alli & Tottenham
For quite some time, people have been discussing how long Dele Alli will remain at
Tottenham.
The 21-year-old England midfielder has five years left on his contract at Spurs, yet he’s constantly linked with a move.
That’s because Alli is so highly-rated, and everyone knows that he’s not on massive wages at Tottenham.
So if a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid came in for Alli with a huge offer, would that turn the midfielder’s head?
Jorge Mendes v Mino Raiola
As the whole Alli discussion plays out, the world’s two leading super-agents, Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola, are locked in a battle to sign the Tottenham star as their client.
Mendes and Raiola are known for sealing the biggest transfers in world football, so the suspicion is that they want Alli in order to take him away from Tottenham.
In an interesting note, it’s been claimed that Mendes and Raiola have tried to convince Alli to sign with them by securing the future of Harry Hickford.
He’s labelled as being like “a brother” to Alli as they lived together during their teenage years.
Alli rejects the offer
But on Saturday, the
Times have reported that Alli is to reject the advances of the two super-agents.
In great news for Spurs fans, readers are told the following:
Dele Alli has no immediate plans to sign up with a leading sports agency despite being courted by Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola, who have both pledged to facilitate a transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s contract negotiations with the club are being handled by Ian Lynam,
his lawyer, of newly established law firm Northridge, and the Hickford family, who informally adopted Alli at the age of 13.
Alli is planning to sign a new contract at Tottenham without any other external advice, although his former agent, Rob Segal, will be due compensation as Alli remains under contract to his company, Impact Sports Management.
