Tottenham Hotspur have been repeatedly linked with re-signing Sporting Lisbon right-winger Marcus Edwards and the club’s manager Ruben Amorin has admitted it may be difficult to keep him.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte has made no secret that Spurs are desperately in need of reinforcements if they want to challenge for trophies and Edwards could prove to be an exciting attacking addition.
In fact, the London club could make an impressive double raid on Sporting this month, as they are also considered to be front runners in the race to sign their highly-rated right-back, Pedro Porro.
Edwards, originally from north London, first joined Tottenham at the age of eight and spent 13 years playing for the club’s youth teams.
However, he only made one senior appearance for Spurs in 2016 before joining Vitoria Guimaraes on a permanent deal three years later.
After a successful three-year stint at the Portuguese club, where in 90 appearances he scored 20 goals and made 14 assists, he joined Sporting on a €7.5m (£6.6m) deal.
Ever since, the Englishman has been a key player for the Lisbon club. Overall, in 40 games for his team, he has scored 12 goals and created 12, giving him an impressive average of 0.6 goal contributions per game.
Edwards has continued his excellent form this season, netting nine times and contributing nine assists in 25 outings. That included two goals in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt and, indeed, his boyhood club Tottenham.
Sporting manager admits keeping Edwards and Porro could be ‘a problem’
Speaking to Record, Sporting manager Amorin has opened up about how difficult it will be to keep Spurs targets Edwards and Porro, who have been two of his most important players this season.
He said: “We are not as attractive a league as others and we cannot pay the same wages.
“This is a problem, even in relation to Portuguese clubs we have this difficulty.
“As was said, they only leave for the clause. We are ready. We know the amount of attacks that go through Porro and Edwards, nobody is blind here. But the market is what it is.”
Indeed, the makeup of Edwards’ contract in particular has given Spurs the upper hand in negotiations.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, when the Englishman signed for Vitoria Guimaraes, Spurs inserted a clause ensuring they would get 50 per cent of a future sale.
However, when the 24-year-old joined Sporting, Tottenham chose to delay the clause, carrying it over until his next move.
Edwards currently has a release clause in his Sporting contract set at around £52m, but Spurs would only have to pay half of that amount as they would technically be owed the other 50 per cent.
Similarly, Porro has a release clause believed to be in the region of £40m in his contract, with Conte very keen on signing the 23-year-old this winter.
As mentioned by the Sporting boss, Edwards and Porro have been combining brilliantly down the Portuguese club’s right side lately, so if Spurs can get this blockbuster double-swoop over the line, they could prove to be huge signings for Tottenham’s season.
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