Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Pedro Porro: Tottenham handed unexpected lifeline as Sporting star takes matter into his own hands

Sporting Lisbon wing-back Pedro Porro

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has once again taken to Twitter to discuss the collapse of Pedro Porro’s transfer to Tottenham, adding a new twist to the ongoing saga.

The Atheltic reported earlier on Monday that the proposed move had completely collapsed after Sporting backed out of the deal, with Porro set to undergo a medical ahead of his switch to north London.

Spurs have been chasing the Spanish right-back for a number of weeks. However, it was initially claimed that Daniel Levy was unwilling to meet the player’s £39million release clause.

Those differences were then overcome, however, when the Tottenham chairman finally gave in to Sporting’s demands.

But now the Portuguese giants are also insisting that the north London club also pay all the admin costs involved in the move, which relates to more than £2m.

And while it was thought that the change in conditions of the transfer had led to it completely breaking down, it appears that Porro himself is doing his best to secure a dream transfer.

The 23-year-old is known to be devastated about the turn of events, and although Record reported that he had trained with the club on Monday, Romano claims that is not the case.

He states that the wing-back was not on the training pitch with his teammates, as he stays away in the hope that the deal could still get done.

It appears that Spurs are still working behind the scenes in the hopes of resurrecting the move. However, the ball now appears to be very much in Sporting’s court over whether it happens or not.

No City return for Sporting ace

Meanwhile, Romano added the reported collapse of the transfer does not mean that Manchester City are back in for the defender.

The reigning Premier League champions are ready to let Joao Cancelo move to Bayern Munich, which could leave an opening in their squad.

Indeed, Romano was asked on the House of Champions podcast whether City could opt to activate their £17.6 million buy-back clause on Porro on the back of Cancelo’s proposed exit.

He said: “At the moment, no. At the moment, they’re not conversing for Porro.

“I think they’re focused on different kind of situations, of players. And I would not be surprised if Man City will keep the same squad. Also, they were considering Cancelo a left-back more than a right-back.”

Porro transfer U-turn devastating for Tottenham

Any failure to land Porro before the window shuts will come as a bitter blow to Conte and Tottenham fans.

The right wing-back role, which is a crucial in Conte’s 3-4-3 system, has not produced much all season long.

Spurs have three options for the position, with Matt Doherty currently ahead of Emerson Royal in the pecking order, while summer signing Djed Spence remains missing in action.

Porro would be a definite upgrade on all those options mentioned. Indeed, he made a real impression on Conte in the two Champions League group games Sporting played against Tottenham this season.

However, if a deal still cannot be reached then Spurs are expected to switch to other targets before the window shuts.

Conte’s men are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Manchester City in the Premier League.

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