Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf have an article on Wednesday morning saying that Brexit, and specifically the impact on the strength of sterling, is harming Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer market, and specifically with their chase for Davinson Sanchez.
De Telegraaf say that even since the end of the Eredivisie season, in mid May, the drop has been 6%.
Rough exchange rates for mid May show sterling getting 1.17 Euros per pound, whereas it’s now around 1.1. On €35m that means getting €40.95m in May compared to €38.5m now.
It’s a blow for Tottenham, but it’s not the big currency problem De Telegraaf use to paint their picture. As part of the same article, it’s now stated Ajax’s asking price for Davinson Sanchez is €50m, just sneaked in there nonchalantly.
De Telegraaf say the expectation is that the freefall won’t drop, and therefore Tottenham should sign Sanchez quickly. It’s also claimed that Ajax can fall back to the ‘real’ interest of Chelsea and Real Madrid, with the latter said to be preapring an offer.
The same newspaper said on Tuesday that Chelsea and Real Madrid were ‘on the bench’, with Tottenham way out in front, so something seems to have happened for the Dutch press to be encouraged to pressure Spurs.
It obviously won’t work.
Daniel Levy maybe has nightmares about Euros going up and down, but De Telegraaf fail to mention that Tottenham’s owner, Joe Lewis, has made much of his fortune by trading currency.
Lewis made a fortune on the fall of sterling back in the 1990s, and it’s not too much of a stretch to believe he knows a thing or two about how to manage the currency right now.
There’s every possibility, and indeed likelihood, that Tottenham have currency hedged at least to some degree, so they’re not prone to daily and weekly fluctuations when it comes to the currency market.
The strength of sterling dropping isn’t good news for any companies from the UK wishing to make big purchases in Euros, and that includes football clubs, but this is something Tottenham will be well prepared for.
If this is Ajax’s latest plan to pressure Tottenham, it’s not the best they could have come up with.
