Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham heavily scouting wide player Paratici is desperate for, as Fabrizio Romano reminds of Man City advantage

Emmanuel Boateng and Pedro Porro

Fabio Paratici is a big fan of Sporting CP wing-back Pedro Porro and Tottenham Hotspur are keeping a close eye on him, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Porro has been linked with Tottenham in recent weeks as they look for a reliable right-back. At the moment, they are struggling to depend on any of Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty and Djed Spence.

Antonio Conte is reliant on wing-backs to make his system work. At most of his former clubs, he has encouraged the signings of several players in those roles.

Therefore, Tottenham could be back in the market for a right-back in January. Even though Spence only arrived in the summer, Conte quickly made it clear he wasn’t responsible for that pursuit.

Indeed, the Italian tactician may be wanting a more senior option with top-flight experience.

With that in mind, Spurs have been linked with Porro amid his impressive form with Sporting. In fact, they saw him first hand when the two sides met in the Champions League earlier this season.

Porro’s contract contains a €45million release clause, which equates to around £39million.

It could be a price worth paying for Tottenham, whose interest is genuine, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Fabrizio Romano confirms major Fabio Paratici interest

However, writing for Caught Offside, Romano has issued a warning that Porro’s former club, Manchester City, could yet get the better of Spurs by activating a much cheaper buyback clause in their favour.

Romano said: “Links are normal as Tottenham have sent their scouts many times to follow Porro. He’s a player who Fabio Paratici knows very well since long time.

“At the moment there are still no direct talks, so not an easy one – also because Manchester City have €20m buy back clause and so they can control the situation.”

In other words, the Premier League champions can sign Porro back for just £17.3million. Whether they want him back or not is another matter, though.

In his position at right-back, Man City already have Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo. The former is approaching the final 18 months of his contract and is 32 years old, so there might have to be an evolution there at some point.

But Walker has still been good enough to be an England regular. Hence, he may yet have a longer future at the Etihad Stadium. Cancelo certainly will, since his contract is due to run until 2027.

Tottenham need Pedro Porro more than Man City

Therefore, Tottenham might have the greater need for Porro at present. But City have been prepared to activate buyback clauses for players in the past even if they don’t really need them. For example, Angelino came back from PSV Eindhoven in 2019; the left-back only went on to play six times in the Premier League afterwards.

Hence, it will be interesting to see whether they decide to act for Porro. The idea of signing him for half as much as what Tottenham and others might have to pay could be inviting.

Alternatively, they could step aside and allow Porro to continue his career elsewhere. One example of them ignoring a buyback clause would be when they allowed Douglas Luiz to stay at Aston Villa.

Judging from Romano’s comments, it appears that City’s buyback clause supersedes the release clause in his Sporting contract, despite the latter being greater. But this is a complicated set of events.

All Tottenham can focus on is getting as good an idea as possible of whether Porro would be a good fit for them. With nine assists and one goal from 19 appearances this season, he has every chance of contributing well in the Premier League later down the line.

And at the age of 23, there is time for the Spaniard to become an even better player. In that case, Tottenham will be hoping to benefit from nurturing his talent.

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