Worst kept secret bearing fruit as Tottenham close in on Sandro

With the transfer window open and the clubs slowly starting to make their first signings of the window, Spurs have moved closer to signing the man who everybody knows they want to sign – Internacional midfielder Sandro. Rumours of a £16 million bid in the summer subsided and now the suggested price is closer to £6 million, which Tottenham will find a lot more reasonable and thus the bid to buy him is back on. Sandro’s lawyer has revealed that the player is ready to move to Spurs, saying

“We have now agreed all of Sandro’s personal terms – his salary, the length of his contract and so on, although nothing can yet be signed. Sandro is happy and ready to join Tottenham. We liked the offer. All that remains is for Tottenham and Inter to finalise the small details, including the transfer fee. I know that Daniel Levy is speaking to Vittorio Piffero.”

There are problems regarding the signing though; Sandro may struggle to get a work permit having played only once for Brazil. One cap for one of the world’s greatest footballing nations is impressive enough for a 20 year old but work permit regulations require a player to have played in 75% of their countries internationals over the last two years. Spurs are hoping to get around this but it is still an issue. And then there’s the fact that Sandro has third party ownership with third parties holding at least 30% of his economic rights. His lawyer has insisted that this is a common practice in Brazil and will not prove a problem but that is yet to be seen.

If Sandro does arrive though then Spurs fans can look forward to a man preferred to Portugal international Miguel Veloso as first choice signing by manager Harry Redknapp – which is big praise given how highly rated Veloso is. The Brazilian is a strong defensive midfielder but, like most Brazilian players, has no problem sauntering up the pitch when his team are in possession. He would add strength to a central midfield area which currently only has Tom Huddlestone, Wilson Palacios and Jermaine Jenas as established footballers.

The myth that South Americans cannot adapt to the Premiership has been proven wrong numerous times in recent years and now Premiership clubs are giving South Americans a chance much more than they had previously, The success of players from Honduras (not South America I know but very close to it) like Palacios and Maynor Figueroa has boosted the profile of the area to no end and we are finally realising that the South American flops failed over here individually and not because they cannot make it. The likes of Kleberson, Veron and Afonso Alves weren’t good enough; if the hype is to be believed then Sandro will be more than good enough and will make a fine acquisition once he arrives at the Lane.

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