It’s been a quiet day in Tottenham Hotspur-land, probably because the club is currently in South Korea one day after playing a friendly and the news just takes a while to fly back from Asia. But here’s something: according to an Argentine sports journalist, Fiorentina are expected to make a formal offer for Tottenham’s 20-year old striker Alejo Veliz.
So there’s some confusing, likely idiomatic Spanish in that tweet that talks about “a high percentage,” but I’m given to understand that this is probably referring to a bid to purchase Veliz permanently, with Tottenham including a sizable sell-on clause in the deal.
Veliz, whom we at Carty Free Towers affectionately dubbed “Big Lumpus” in internal chat, is 20 years old and was signed last summer as a “Paratici special” from Rosario Central for ~£15m, a fee that now feels pretty ridiculous. He’s a big lad and there were thoughts he could’ve filled a Richarlison-like void as a Big Physical Dude in the Box in certain situations.
He was kind of a weird signing because while he had an interesting profile and some good physical benchmarks, he wasn’t an obvious fit for Postecoglou’s tactics and hasn’t really done much to justify his place in the team, much less his price tag. He played just 50 total minutes of game time in the Premier League (with one goal in a 4-2 loss at Brighton). Veliz then was sent off on loan to Sevilla where he barely played because the manager was beefing with the club ownership and didn’t want or especially need him. He played just 35 minutes while on loan in the spring.
We haven’t seen much from Veliz this preseason either — he had a brief second half appearance in Spurs’ first friendly against Hearts, during which he promptly tripped and got a bloody nose after which he was subbed off for Dane Scarlett. He also had another brief stint of play against QPR, but while he was taken on tour to Asia, he has yet to play a single minute. There are suggestions he’s behind both Will Lankshear and Scarlett in the pecking order, so maybe this rumor is starting to make more sense?
IDK man. Veliz does seem like a player whose stature suggests he could make an impact in Italian football, but Fiorentina’s likely not going to want to spend a ton of money for him, hence the report of a possible sell-on clause. He’s under contract until 2029 but at this point it’s hard to see him actually breaking through at Spurs, so maybe Tottenham are ready to cut bait on him for whatever they can get. I would’ve expected him to go on loan again, but maybe a quick sale and a high percentage sell-on is better for his development and Spurs’ budget.
Or maybe this is all Bat Country. Guess we gotta wait to see.