Tottenham agree Dos Santos deal Dos Santos is renowned for his dribbling skills <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Tottenham will sign forward Giovani dos Santos from Barcelona, subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms. The Mexico international will sign a five-year deal in a move which will cost an initial £4.7m and could rise to £8.6m depending on appearances. Barcelona have retained the right to 20% of any fee should the 19-year-old move on from Spurs in the first two years of his spell with the club. And they will get 10% of any fee if he is sold later in his contract. Dos Santos first joined Barcelona in 2002 and came through the youth ranks at the Nou Camp. He broke into the first-team under former boss Frank Rijkaard last season and made 16 starts in all competitions and came on as a substitute 22 times in the campaign. Dos Santos also scored a hat-trick in the final league game of the season as Barca beat Murcia 5-3. The winger, who can also play up front or behind a main striker, helped Mexico to win the World under-17 championship in Peru in 2005. He is regarded as a promising talent but appears to have been allowed to leave by the Nou Camp oufit as they also have youngsters Lionel Messi and Bojan Krkic in their ranks. South American football reporter Tim Vickery told BBC Sport: "He is the son of Brazil international Zizinho, but he plays for Mexico - and masterminded the 3-0 win over Brazil in the final of the 2005 World Under-17 Cup. "He is a slight figure with a terrific burst of acceleration and he has a superb left foot."</div> Wow, what a great signing by the Spurs. Hats of to them. They will be an exciting team to watch next season. (and they were this season as well lol)
Barça Confirm Giovani To Spurs <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Giovani had already let the news of his move to North London slip when interviewed at half-time of Mexico's friendly with Argentina in mid-week, but now official confirmation has come from Barcelona that the deal is complete. Spurs will pay €6million up front for the 19 year old, with a further €5million possibly coming Barça's way dependent on various clauses that have been placed into the deal. The Catalan giants will retain 20% of Giovani's economic rights in the first year of his time with Spurs, with that figure reducing down to 10% for the remainder of his contract. Giovani will sign a five year deal, keeping him at White Hart Lane until 2013 and becomes Spurs' second major signing of the summer, following the £15.8million arrival of Croatian midfielder Luka Modric. Tottenham are yet to release an official statement of their own, but that will surely be forthcoming in the next few days. Barça are also hard to work to tie up the loose ends of Gianluca Zambrotta's move to AC Milan as they look to raise further funds for the spending spree that they hope will fire them back to the top of La Liga next season.</div>
Great young player, and 6 million is actually pretty cheap these days for a talented youngster on a 5 year contract (even considering the possible addition of 5 million). Nice move by Tottenham, he'll definitely help them out next season, but it remains to be seen whether his style fits the English league as well as it did the Spanish (which is more like the South American/Mexican leagues IMO than the English). I still remember him as a 15 year old on Barca C back in FM 2005...those were the days...
I never would have expected him to go to a team like the Spurs, I was thinking the top teams like Inter, Juventus, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc., teams that are known to go after superstars. I'm surprised Barca didn't ask for more. lol But seems like they have a deal in place with the Spurs, and it says in the article that if they end up selling him in 2 years, they would have to pay Barca 20% of the price.
The percentage of next sale clause is becoming increasingly popular, especially when dealing with young players. I believe going to an UEFA talent squad like the Spurs was the right decision for Dos Santos, since he'll probably start and get his minutes, while getting to train with top notch players and at good facilities. He probably won't be around to finish all 5 years, I can see him going to a CL level team in the next 2-3 years, after proving himself in English and Euro competitions. He'll participate with Mexico in the World Cup '10 (assuming the make it, which they probably will out of the weak CONCACAF qualification tourney), and if he does well there a big club will pick him up in the summer that follows.
great signing again like all of you i am suprised he didn't go to giant but now a days anything is possible e.g tevez (west ham)
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think its a great signing and isn't surprised he didn't go to one of the giants. He is a good player, but he's not elite and shouldn't be playing for an elite team. I also don't think an elite team should be investing in him. I don't see England being a successful venture for him as he is a small, attacking player who will be overrun by the physicality of the English game. Staying in Spain would have been best for him where he has that freedom to roam that he will not get in England. I think Dos Santos is caught up in two fairly significant hype machines. First, for those of us in North America, he is going to be one of Mexico's top players for years to come and gets significant hype from that. Second, he is from the same system that just recently gave us Bojan and Messi. I don't think Dos Santos will be on the level that Messi is and I think Bojan will always be better than him. Don't get me wrong, I think Dos Santos is good and he belongs with a team on Tottenham's level. I just don't think that he is a great signing for Spurs and I don't think he'll ever be an elite player.
Wow. Offiically Bemused. Good signing for Spurs. He'd be a welcome addition to any team in the world. Maybe Spurs can regain their place in 5th again.
