£70m wasted: Ange must axe Spurs dud who earns more than Porro & Bentancur

Submitted by daniel on
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It's been all change at Tottenham Hotspur over the last year and a bit, with club legend Harry Kane moving to Germany and the somewhat unknown Ange Postecoglou being handed the reigns in the same summer.

Since then, the North Londoners have become one of the most exciting teams to watch in the country and have welcomed in a swathe of exciting young talents while finally getting rid of several players who just weren't good enough.

However, despite the significant changes to the squad over the summer, there are still a few players that Daniel Levy and Ange need to move on as soon as possible, including one who earns more than Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Porro and Bentancur's salaries at Spurs

The Lilywhites signed Porro from Portuguese giants Sporting CP on an initial loan in January 2023 with an obligation to buy for around £39m in the summer, and in the season and a half since, he has more than justified that fee.

So far, the incredible Spaniard has made 59 appearances for the North Londoners, primarily at right-back, in which he has racked up a seriously impressive haul of eight goals and ten assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 3.27 games.

This sensational attacking ability has unsurprisingly made the 25-year-old one of Postecoglou's most important players, and while it's a lot of money, he's undoubtedly justifying his £85k-per-week wage.

Likewise, Bentancur, who joined Spurs for around £21.5m, including add-ons in January 2022, is another player who is arguably justifying his £75k-per-week wage.

Since moving to N17, the "technically immense" Uruguay international, as dubbed by broadcaster Adam Smith, has made 74 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists. While he has had injury problems, Tottenham are a far better team when he's in the lineup.

Overall, both Porro and Bentancur have proven to be worth their initial transfer fee and wage packet, which unfortunately cannot be said about one of their teammates.

Richarlison's salary at Spurs

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his form in the last two years, the Spurs player who simply isn't justifying his wage or transfer fee is Richarlison.

The Brazilian forward joined the North Londoners from Everton in the summer of 2022 for a reported fee of around £60m, and while that was a significant fee at the time, his form for the Toffees suggested that he might really be worth that much.

For example, in his time with the Merseysiders, the 48-capped international scored 53 goals and provided 13 assists in 152 appearances, but as Tottenham fans will attest, he has not shown that sort of form over the last two seasons.

In fact, in his first campaign with the club, the 27-year-old scored just three goals and provided four assists in 35 appearances, while last season, he did slightly better and ended the year with 12 goals and four assists in 31 games.

Unfortunately, after making substitute appearances in the first two games of the season, the Nova Venécia-born star has since been sidelined with an unknown injury, and it looks like he'll remain out for quite some time.

So, with everything that has happened over the last two years, it would be hard to argue that the former Everton ace has been worth the £60m the club paid for him, let alone his £90k-per-week wages, which have since amounted to around £10.4m.

Ultimately, while Richalison is a talented player who has done well for Brazil, he has not done anywhere near enough at Spurs, so while it may be harsh, Ange and Levy should look to move him on in January, or failing that, next summer.