But how does this affect Gareth Bale? Let’s leave that aside for one post and concentrate on the matter at hand: The surprise of a club from North London nearing a striker purchase.
We have to say ‘nearing’ because the deal’s not official. Still, Roberto Soldado is all but a Tottenham Hotspur player after the Premier League side came to an agreement with Valencia that will send the 28-year-old striker to White Hart Lane. Los Che president Amadeo Salvo:
That problem? A commission Soldado’s agents were supposed to get, paid out in installments over the life of his deal at the Mestalla (which ran through 2017). With the player set to leave the club, Valencia no longer want to pay the €300,000 (per MARCA) the agents are owned, though it’s been reported Soldado’s representation has settled for half the amount.
The deal has already sparked rumors of Fernando Torres and Olivier Giroud moving to Valencia to fill Los Che’s striker void, but the less speculative effects concern Spurs, who will pay a record fee for Soldado, should the deal be finalized. The transfer will fill a void André Villas-Boas was never able to address last season, with the lack of quality at striker playing a major part in the team dropping from fourth to fifth. Although Jermain Defoe got off to a hot start, his production waned as the season progressed, while the permanent transfer of Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City failed to come with the same results to Togo international produced while on loan in 2011-12.
If Spurs manage to hold on to Gareth Bale, Soldado’s acquisition seems to round out the midfield and attacking six in what’s expected to be a 4-3-3 formation. Soldado will be flanked by Bale and Aaron Lennon, with a midfield of Moussa Dembele, Paulinho, and Sandro supported from the bench by the likes of Lewis Holtby, Clint Dempsey, and Gylfi Sigurdsson (or yeah: Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker haven’t been moved yet, either). Add in Adebayor and Defoe, and Villas-Boas has one of the more impressive benches in the league.
There are questions at the back, particularly since Steven Caulker’s move to Cardiff City cuts into their depth, but through midfield and into the forward line, Tottenham appear to be set. The acquisition of Soldado’s rounded out that part of the team.
Soldado originally moved to Valencia before the 2010-11 season, having come off a 20-goal campaign with Getafe. In three seasons at the Mestalla, the Spanish international scored 81 goals in 141 international appearances, form that eventually won his way back into the Spanish national team.
This summer at the Confederations Cup, Soldado scored the winning goal in Spain’s group stage victory over Uruguay, his sixth goal in 11 appearances for the Furia Roja.