The Chinese League have been constantly gaining up a reputation as the money wonderland of football. Their financial clout has made their pulling power just impossible to resist.
As soon as the winter window unfolded, a number of stars like Axel Witsel, Oscar and Carlos Tevez have secured their futures with Chinese Super League clubs. At the age of 32, the latter will be earning a jaw-dropping £615,000-a-week, elevating over Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the world’s highest-paid player. Awash with lots of success from various leagues, beyond the money matter, it somewhat seems to be the right decision by the former Manchester United and Juventus forward.
While Witsel and Oscar, 28 and 25 respectively, are in their prime and could have joined other clubs as there were demands for their signatures yet the astronomical amount on offer got them ignoring greener pastures.
Day by day, Chinese clubs with deep pockets have been dominating the newspaper’s back pages and it’s no surprise that a number of Spurs starlets have been linked too, particularly Harry Kane. Looking at his splendid run of form, not only from Southeast Asia, even European big boys might be flocking in the summer.
However, the England international has poured cold water over the rumours. Kane expressed that not only him but no one from White Hart Lane are keen in taking the similar path as the aforementioned players.
“People are going to speculate about that but you can see how good a shape the club is in,” said the Tottenham goal machine.
“The future is bright. We’ve got one of the best managers in the world, if not the best. I’m pretty sure he’d stay [if a Chinese Super League club came in for Pochettino], he’s starting a project here, we’ve got the stadium coming, so the future is very bright.
“I’d be very surprised if any of our players went out there, especially within the next couple of seasons. What we’ve got going on here is something very great and I think it would be silly for the players here not to be part of it.”
Spurs faithful would be delightful to hear his words as the 23-year-old has been a crucial cog in Tottenham’s attacking wheel, notching 13 goals out of 16 appearances so far this season. Last time out against West Brom at home, he cradled the match ball after bagging a hat-trick in the 4-0 riot. The victory helped his side leapfrog to the second spot in the league, following the 1-1 stalemate between Manchester United and Liverpool. It was also his manager’s 200th match in English football.
After painfully missing out the league title last term, the north London club are going on the right path on and off the pitch this time. Besides brilliance on the field, the club managed to sign contract extensions with key players not long ago, including Kane and Dele Alli. Talks that Real Madrid will still break the bank for the duo in summer are gaining steam but as it stands, the exit door is slammed shut.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men will next face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. It’s expected to be a fiery encounter as no team will be coming in for a draw, it would be naïve, looking at the contiguity between the top six clubs. However, they will have to do it without centre-back Jan Vertonghen, who picked up an ankle injury against the Baggies.
