Daniel Levy has secured Tottenham a “win-win” deal after he struck a last-minute agreement with Real Betis for Johnny Cardoso, according to football finance expert Dan Plumley.

Spurs have agreed a priority option with the Spanish club that will ensure that they are given the first opportunity to sign the 22-year-old in the future, with the fee fixed at £25.3million [Tom Bogert, 30 August].
If Ange Postecoglou’s side decide against signing the American, they will receive a percentage of any fee Betis secure for his signature and Plumley believes this sort of deal could become more common in the future.

“It’s a really unique agreement,” Plumley exclusively told Tottenham News.

“I can’t think off of the top of my head of a similar deal that was structured like that so it is a rarity for sure.

“But it’s a really shrewd bit of business as well on the other side of it. I think [Giovani] Lo Celso was part of the deal as well to get him off of the books and over to Real Betis. He was one that perhaps needed to leave.

“So to do that, then have first priority on an up-and-coming player that you think perhaps could have potential in the future and if you don’t decide to go in for that player, you still have a percentage of the sell-on, I think that is a really shrewd bit of business from Spurs.

“Maybe we will see a bit more of that in the future as you say, but it is certainly unique at the minute and it is almost a win-win for the club.

“If they do decide to go for that player, they have first priority. If they don’t think it’s the right move for them and that player moves on, they’ve got a little bit of business from it as well.

“I think it is a really shrewd bit of business if it plays out well for them.”

Tottenham agree Johnny Cardoso transfer deal with Real Betis

It is hard to see how this agreement with Betis could go wrong from a Spurs perspective. Either they sign an exciting young talent at a cut price, or they pocket a fee for a player that they never actually owned.

Levy gets plenty of criticism from Tottenham supporters and a lot of it is deserved, but the Lilywhites deserve plenty of credit for this sort of deal as they are tapping into a market that no one else has ever touched.

In other Tottenham news, one Spurs player is now in the “shop window” after a summer transfer decision by Postecoglou