Tottenham Hotspur have dropped a bombshell this evening on a vast segment of their fanbase by announcing that they have reached a mutual agreement with the Republic of Ireland’s Matt Doherty to terminate his contract at the club in order to allow him to join Atletico de Madrid.
The 31-year-old, who has one goal this season, had been expected to depart earlier today to the Madrid giants in the wake of Pedro Porro’s arrival, but only on a loan for the rest of the season, with neither an option nor obligation in place for Diego Simeone’s side to buy Doherty on the conclusion of his mooted 6-month loan spell at the Wanda Metropolitano.
However, while Spurs’ announcement caught many by surprise, Football.London shed light on the matter by highlighting the rationale behind Doherty’s contract termination rather than his being loaned out to Atletico.
As per Alisdair Gold’s report, new FIFA regulations limit clubs to a maximum of 8 foreign outgoing loans. Spurs would therefore have been unable to loan Doherty, as they already have 8 players out on a foreign loan in Joe Rodon and as of today, Djed Spence at Rennes, Harry Winks at Sampdoria, Giovani lo Celso at Villarreal, Tanguy N’dombele at Napoli, Sergio Reguilon (also at Atletico de Madrid), Bryan Gil at Sevilla, and Destiny Udogie at Udinese.
With Porro arriving, Spurs had to clear the decks to make room, and so a quick resolution was sought between all parties, and ultimately culminated in Doherty’s contract ending prior to his move to the Spanish capital.
This certainly caught me by surprise, but having learned about these guidelines shortly after the announcement, it all makes sense to me now! All the best Matt, and thanks for your efforts…
Spurs fans, what do you make of Doherty’s surprise move? Have your say by visiting the Vital Spurs fan forum here.
Good.