Southampton have confirmed that Tottenham reserve goalkeeper Tommy Forecast joined the club as part of an early settlement of the Gareth Bale deal.
Bale joined Spurs from The Saints last summer for an initial fee of £5 million plus potentially another 5 million in additional payments.
Due to their financial plight, Southampton have agreed to forfeit an unspecified amount of any future monies in favour of an early settlement, which includes Forecast.
A similar agreement took place last season when Arsenal agreed to pay 2.9m as a final settlement of the Theo Walcott transfer.
Returning Southampton PLC Chairman Rupert Lowe spoke of the agreement saying: ‘I am always reluctant to forego any future income but given our current financial situation, we must do all we can to go into the new season as robustly as possible,’ Lowe said.
‘Over the past two years the club finances have deteriorated markedly as a result of the excess expenditure of income. To some extent this has been mitigated by the sale of young players like Gareth Bale.’
‘I believe in long-term planning through developing good young players. Despite the sacrifice of this valuable income stream which may or may not become due in the future, this deal ticks both boxes.’
This represents a good deal for all parties, The Saints get a guaranteed sum of money now at a time when they desperately need it, giving them some financial breathing space. While Spurs have saved a ‘guestimate’ figure of 2-3 million of the overall deal for Bale.
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