Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly looking to maximize their return on investment by selling failed striker Thierry Henry to the Middle East.
“Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants to recoup all the money he has invested in him so far when he sells him to Saudi Arabia,” according to a report by soccer specialist Team Talk on July 7 (KST), suggesting that his transfer fee will be very high.
Since joining Tottenham last summer, the Frenchman has been very disappointing, scoring just five goals in 47 games. He joined Spurs from Everton ahead of the 2022/23 season and scored just three goals in 35 appearances last season. This season, he has just two goals in 12 games. Notably, he has only scored one goal in the Premier League between last season and this season.
It’s hard not to think about the money spent on him.
According to football transfer market specialist Transfermarkt, Spurs had to pay a hefty transfer fee of €58 million to bring him to the club. Even after he arrived at Spurs, a lot of money was spent on him, according to soccer finance site Capologie: His weekly wage is £90,000 ($150,000) base salary plus a £40,000 ($66,000) bonus, totaling nearly £130,000 ($210,000).
That’s an annualized salary of £6.76 million. By the end of his contract in 2027, that’s a whopping £18.72 million in salary expenses alone. In other words, he’s a money pit.
As such, Levy has no intention of selling the underperformer on the cheap. “We hope Levy recoups every penny from him,” said Team Talk, “considering his performances at Tottenham have been less than spectacular.” In other words, no team would pay big money for a failed transfer.
But Saudi Arabia is a different story. There are clubs in the kingdom that are willing to pay around $100 million for a transfer fee and two years of salary.
Tottenham are reportedly anxiously awaiting the January transfer window to strengthen their attack. With the departure of Hicharlison in sight, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Saudi Arabian Al Ittihad Jota, who was previously coached by current Tottenham boss Anzhi Postecoglou at Celtic, are among the favorites to fill the void in the attack.
However, according to TeamTalk, “Arsenal and Chelsea are slightly ahead in the race for Toni, and Jota doesn’t want to leave the Al Ittihad,” so it may not be as easy as it seems for Spurs to add a striker.
In addition, Tottenham’s top prospect Alejo Velis is being courted by Bologna in the Italian Serie A, so he could be sent out on loan, leaving a gaping hole in Spurs’ squad.