Tottenham Hotspur have moved to turn Pau López’s season-long loan into a permanent deal and have offered Espanyol €2m (£1.74m) plus a further €2m in add-ons. The proposal includes a clause that would guarantee the Spanish club a cut of any future sale and Tottenham are confident it will be accepted.
Pau, who will play for Spain at the European Under-21 Championship in Poland later this month, did not feature for Tottenham during the season but he is highly rated by the manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
The 22-year-old has one year to run on his Espanyol contract and, as he is not inclined to sign a new one, Tottenham believe that they are in a strong negotiating position. The London club had the option to buy Pau outright last January for €7m (£6.08m) but they passed it up, largely because they felt that they could get him for less.
Pau completed his temporary move to White Hart Lane on transfer deadline day last summer and he did so because he was enthused by the prospect of working under Pochettino, who started his managerial career at Espanyol. Pau was Espanyol’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2015-16 season, playing 36 times in La Liga and, if he were to sign for Tottenham, he would push Michel Vorm for the role of Hugo Lloris’s understudy.
Pochettino discussed Pau in early April. “He is very competitive and has a strong character,” Pochettino said. “He needs to learn and improve but he is ready – physically and mentally.”
(The Guardian)
