Reports claim that Chelsea are weighing up a January move for Ben Davies.
While the idea that Chelsea have declined to the extent that they’re now sniffing round our squad players, is a pleasing one for Spurs fans, it’s doubtful that anyone would actually want to see the deal go through.
The rumoured £20m fee might seem a tempting for a player who is not first choice for the club, selling Davies to Chelsea could backfire.
Firstly, Tottenham would lose an able deputy for Danny Rose and a player who at just 23-years old has the potential to develop further. The £20m might seem like a great fee, but a replacement would have to be bought and it could be tough to bring someone in that’s as good.
Secondly, Spurs would be helping Chelsea to solve a problem. The antipathy between the clubs exists not just between the fans but at boardroom level also, with memories of being gazumped for Willian and the approach for Luka Modric still fresh in the memory. It would be a hugely unpopular decision to allow one of our players to move to Chelsea and potentially aid them, as they look to reclaim a place in the Champions League.
Yet while it’s unlikely that Tottenham would sell Davies to Chelsea, it would be no surprise if the player moved on within the next year or two. At 23 he can afford to bide his time, as long as he’s playing fairly regularly, but you’d expect him to want to be first choice at some stage in his career.
With Rose having committed his future to Spurs, Davies has got stiff competition in the years to come. Rose is integral to Tottenham’s style of play and it may be that Davies has to consider his future sooner rather than later.
Having signed a five-year contract in 2014, there is no pressure on Tottenham to sell until the summer at earliest and it will be interesting to see whether we’re treated to the sight of Mauricio Pochettino with his arm around the Welsh international, at some point this season.
What’s for sure is that if and when Davies does go, Premier League clubs will be lining up to buy him. What’s also sure is that Spurs won’t sell him to Chelsea.
LoL – yeah it’s quite funny that the Chavs are reduced to re-signing Side Show Bob and trying to bully us out of a squad player.
On the other hand, Davies is a pretty decent squad player and in the position where rotation is most important for us – full-back. And the £20 million is not that impressive when you factor in the 50% increase in price that the TV money has caused. In fact, it works out in real terms at little more than we paid. £30 million would be more like it…but even then, sorry Chelsea :-\