Romano confirms fully agreed Tottenham transfer is OFF – ‘decision has been made’ | OneFootball

A fully agreed Tottenham transfer has been abandoned, with two separate sources including Fabrizio Romano pointing to Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali as to why.

Tottenham smashed their transfer record on Thursday when announcing the £85m arrival of Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. To the surprise of many, Spurs beat Manchester United to that deal thanks in large part to the latter’s unwilling to pay the full fee in guaranteed payments.

Another surprise is imminent, with Spurs to go one better for Sandro Tonali.

Tottenham are paying £100m (£92.5m plus £7.5m in add-ons) for the Italy ace who again, will set a new transfer record in north London.

Tonali has publicly confirmed a major factor in his decision to choose Spurs over other suitors like Manchester City was the presence of Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian manager now has an embarrassment of riches in central midfield, and in a campaign where there’ll be no European football, a logjam has formed.

Aside from the new boys, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr are also in situ.

As such, it’s easy to see why Tottenham have just pulled the plug on activating their option to buy Joao Palhinha outright.

Tottenham call off Joao Palhinha signing

The Portuguese loanee helped secure the club’s Premier League status with a critical goal on the final day. He had hoped to stay longer, personal terms were agreed, and an option to buy from Bayern Munich worth €30m / £26m made the deal a simple one.

But with Fernandes and Tonali arriving, there’s no room for Palhinha who’s permanent transfer to Tottenham has now been called off.

The Sun’s Tom Barclay broke the news first, reporting on X: ‘Presume most #thfc fans would have expected this, but with Tonali and Fernandes blockbuster midfield signings, understand Joao Palhinha won’t be returning to Spurs.

‘Club going into a new era but think supporters will appreciate how Palhinha stepped up when they needed him most.’

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Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano subsequently reported the same, and doubled down on claims the twin arrivals of Tonali and Fernandes are why there’s no room for Palhinha.

He wrote on X: ‘João Palhinha will not stay at Spurs this summer despite his desire to continue at the club.

‘The decision has been made after Tonali and Mateus Fernandes signings.’