Club must sell star to Tottenham or risk him going there via court case for fraction of fee

The Vincent Janssen transfer situation probably reached saga status when RTL in the Netherlands last week spoke to Ruud Koning, Dutch professor of sport economics.

Koning explained that he thought the Brexit vote may have derailed Tottenham’s move for Janssen, making him more expensive than he had been a week previously, and causing both clubs to then disagree on price.

The professor implied criticism toward Tottenham for not having hedged their currency, and protected against such a situation. Tottenham’s owners know a thing or two about the currency markets, which gave the story a little doubt… although the figures and price change after Brexit still made some sense.

Today Voetbal International have spoken to another expert. Pim de Vos is a lawyer, and that includes working in the world of labour law and sports. More pointedly he’s an adviser for FIFPro, who believe the current contract and transfer situation in football is unsustainable and that more power should rest with individual players.

De Vos believes Janssen’s current club AZ are playing a very dangerous game, because if the situation went down the legal route then the Dutch club could lose a lot of money: “A court would fix the fee at a fraction of that amount… players are not a commodity. AZ are taking a big risk by not dealing, and they know it. My estimate is that AZ will also realise that and not retain Vincent if he really wants to go.”

We’re pretty sure that’s impossible under FIFA regulation and even if it was, it’s the last thing Tottenham would want to get involved with. They’ve got far more worthy assets than most, and potentially more to lose if the football contract system ever came crashing down.

A saga.