Tottenham Hotspur reportedly remain in pole position to land midfielder Johnny Cardoso this summer despite a surprising development at his current club Real Betis.
Last summer, Spurs secured a special clause as part of an agreement with Real Betis that saw Giovani Lo Celso return to Los Verdiblancos. That clause was for Cardoso, who has been a standout performer for the LaLiga side since he arrived from Internacional during the 2024 winter transfer window.
The 23-year-old USA international has become a pivotal player for Betis since his arrival, so the clause agreed with Tottenham, which is worth €25m (£21m / $26m), would almost certainly have been inserted begrudgingly – but inserted it was.
A number of other clubs are known to take an interest in Cardoso since then, although a move to north London does still appear to be the most likely outcome if the player does move from Betis.
But, for now, Betis have been making arrangements for Cardoso to stay, and on Tuesday they announced that he had agreed a new five-year contract at the club, which keeps him tied down until the end of the 2029/30 season.
A club statement read: “Real Betis Balompie and Johnny Cardoso have reached an agreement for the extension of the Brazilian midfielder’s contract for one more season. In this way, the American international is linked to the Green and White Club until 2030.”
However, Mundo Deportivo states that Cardoso’s new contract does little to affect his possible departure in the summer, with Tottenham’s clause remaining active.
It’s worth pointing out though that Spurs’ clause is only active for a few weeks during the summer transfer window.
Failure to trigger that clause then would allow Betis to demand as much as they want for the USMNT star, also putting them in a strong position to negotiate with other clubs.
It would certainly be a huge blow for Betis to lose Cardoso at the end of the current campaign, especially after tying him down a new contract.
The defensive midfielder has scored once and added an assist in 25 appearances for Betis in all competitions this season, with the majority of those games playing as a shield in from the back four.
Tottenham expected to trigger Cardoso deal this summer
For their part, it’s expected that Spurs will look to trigger that bargain deal for Cardoso, given his outstanding form in LaLiga and the Europa Conference League this term.
There is a strong possibility that the club will look to offload Yves Bissouma this summer as the former Brighton man continues to struggle to hit the same heights he reached down on the south coast.
The Mali international has been in and out of Ange Postecoglou’s side, while there is every chance that Archie Gray will finally be given the chance to play in his preferred position again once Tottenham’s defensive starters are fully fit again.
Rodrigo Bentancur is another player who has struggled to replicate the same form he was showing before his ACL injury in 2023 and still looks a yard short of pace and lacking a bit of bite to his game.
Talented youngsters Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall continue to impress though, so the future for the position is bright – but Cardoso would add some steel in Postecoglou’s engine room, if the Australian is still around next season given Tottenham’s Premier League struggles this term.