Adel Taarabt..

[electrickeeper]

..is a Spur for at least 5 more years!!! (http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=460014&CPID=8&clid=6&lid=2&title=Taarabt+claims+Tottenham+deal&channel=football_home&)

Another piece of great news for the club!

If the core of players stay at WHL, then the big 4 may become the big 5, and CL spots will be a battle every single year!

[chanman83]

he created that Free kick for berbs vs west ham, came in vs SCUM and did very well. Great scouting and I see only brighter things for this kid. GREAT Job on the signing.

[cdmphy]

Could be a great player in the future, but the way he runs is f****d up.

[DigitalTron]

Great news. He's definitely a good acquisition. Even if we don't have a true left winger, we're going to have quality attacking midfield options for that spot in Malbranque and Taarabt.

-Digital

[Spur_Forever]

but the way he runs is f****d up. Him and Lennon both run like a pair of pansies, but I see greatness for both of them.

In the glimpses I've seen of him, Taarabt has looked like a genuine creative central midfielder - the likes of which we haven't had since another young lad with a funny (chest-forward) running style came to play for us in the 90s.

[Colm]

If this is true great to hear. :)

[Danners9]

It's very true, it's been the case since he joined in january. He is only on loan now because of his age. He will sign a proper deal when he turns 18.

[Phillyspur]

Him and Lennon both run like a pair of pansies, but I see greatness for both of them.

Glad it's not just me, then.

If we're not careful, we'll be more French than l'Arse. ;)

[Malkamus]

Like to see more of the kid next season -- throw him in as a sub, a start or two in the early rounds of the cup competitions, can't really judge until then...

[DigitalTron]

Despite Taarabt's clear noises that he's very happy at Spurs, I suspect the club doesn't want to integrate him into the team too heavily until his contract is official and binding. Surely, exposing him to the world in the UEFA Cup would have drawn lots of attention to him, especially in the Spanish league. Spurs don't want to risk losing him, so they're handling him with white gloves until his 18th birthday around the end of May.

But next season, I expect he'll be a contender for a starting spot, and probably be on the sub bench for most games and be a part of Jol's midfield rotation and injury replacement pattern.

Another benefit of holding him back a bit this season is that it strengthens our chance of bringing in a true left winger. With Lennon and Routledge sewing up the right wing, Jenas and Malbranque playing the middle and sharing the wings sometimes, the only real opening for a creative midfielder is on the left. I'm sure a true left winger or even a potential central midfielder would fancy competing with the inconsistent Jenas and not-so-young, not-so-fast, not-so-defensive Malbranque. But, to have to compete with a budding starlet like Taarabt too might scare off some of our transfer targets.

Jol said he wanted a squad of about 24 players and about 4 or 5 young players. Assuming Lennon is counted as part of the 24 squad and Taarabt part of the 4 or 5 young players ... we should expect 2 or 3 top quality youngsters brought on board in the offseason. And perhaps a couple of our youth guys will break through like defenders Devritte and Ifil, forward Pekhart (sp?), and/or someone else.

-Digital

[Danners9]

Despite Taarabt's clear noises that he's very happy at Spurs, I suspect the club doesn't want to integrate him into the team too heavily until his contract is official and binding. Surely, exposing him to the world in the UEFA Cup would have drawn lots of attention to him, especially in the Spanish league. Spurs don't want to risk losing him, so they're handling him with white gloves until his 18th birthday around the end of May.

No, no chance for anyone to come in and steal him. It's done. It was done when he joined on loan.

He was going to leave Lens when he turned 18 anyway, as he wasn't on a pro contract and wasn't going to sign theirs - as they wanted him in the reserves. Spurs came in, said they want him now, told they couldn't have him permanently because of his age but could on loan until he's 18 when he joins full-time.

So they agreed a loan deal, a fee and a long-term contract. However it only comes into effect when he turns 18.

[DigitalTron]

No, no chance for anyone to come in and steal him. It's done. It was done when he joined on loan.

He was going to leave Lens when he turned 18 anyway, as he wasn't on a pro contract and wasn't going to sign theirs - as they wanted him in the reserves. Spurs came in, said they want him now, told they couldn't have him permanently because of his age but could on loan until he's 18 when he joins full-time.

So they agreed a loan deal, a fee and a long-term contract. However it only comes into effect when he turns 18.

The difference is that legally it's not binding until he turns 18 ... so it's kinda like a letter of intent to contract, but not a binding contract. Should he decide to leave for Milan or Barcelona, he would be able to get out of this pre-18 agreement. It would be messy for sure, but he absolutely would be able to do it. I doubt Barca were too happy about Cesc going to Arsenal, but he was sorta in the same situation ... there simply was nothing Barca could do. While Taarabt is still a minor, those contracts can always be voided. Legally, it's not a binding contract. Although, it's in nobody's best interest to say that publicly.

-Digital

[Danners9]

It would become an Obi Mikel situation.

Not a Cesc situation. The difference is that Mikel agreed to go to Man utd, signed the proper contract with them then changed his mind after some bullying by his agent.

With Fibreglass (and N'Zogbia of Newcastle, and also Flamini of Arsenal) they didn't have professional contracts. Like Taarabt, they have apprenticeship deals that aren't worth much. Taarabt committing himself to Spurs back in January means he is now contracted to Spurs but it comes into force in May. If he wanted to break that it would be a Court of Arbitration for Sport saga. In essence it's no different to a pre-contract agreement for signing someone who is coming to the end of their contract.

European clubs aren't so tight on tieing their kids down (that sounds awful), English clubs have them signed at a young age. The French, Spanish and Italian markets are very easy to exploit for English clubs. Lupoli, Rossi, Fabregas, N'Zogbia, Flamini, the 3 youth kids Liverpool signed from Spain (Zaragoza and Mallorca), the 2 Arsenal have signed from Spain (Merida of Barca and one from Valencia), a couple of kids Chelsea have signed from France (one this week actually, 15 yr old kid from Lens). They all come under the scholarship/apprenticeship deal, they aren't worth anything but do entitle the club holding the contract to a small fee if the player breaks it. Chelsea paid Lens £200,000 for this 15yr old. It basically stops the club from saying 'oi, you, you poached him!'.

That's how it will be with Taarabt. The fee Spurs pay is not a normal transfer fee, it's development and compensation. I guess it's the same thing, but usually paying for a player is also to buy out his contract too and in this case there is no real contract to buy out.

[DaeHaMinGuk]

If we can get the 12 million pounds or whatever Chelsea paid for Obi Mikel, I'd be ok with losing Taarabt...

[DigitalTron]

There is an age where contracts become enforceable. Any contract that is signed by a minor can be voided ... no matter what the contract is. I don't think Spurs are worried about losing 200k over a fee ... I think they're worried that the player himself will want to go elsewhere when another team offers immediate playing time and way more cash ... somewhere like Juventus, etc. that have both the money and spot to offer.

I think your Obi Mikel comparison is a good one, but I'm saying that it very much is possible for Taarabt to get out of that contract prior to turning 18. Once he turns 18 he has to show coersion to get out of it, and that's extremely unlikely. Both Spurs and the people advising Taarabt know this, which is why both sides are looking anxiously at this 18th birthday.

I could be wrong, but I personally think Taarabt is very happy at Spurs and excited about playing here ... so he's not going to be tempted away. But from a Spurs perspective, why take that risk? They've given him just enough of a run out to show him that they're serious about him, but not enough to really let him show his skill yet.

The EU designations for minor and adult may have changed, but there is always a date whereby a child becomes an adult legally ... and I think it's 18 there. This is the reason Rooney, Milner and many others weren't signed to full fledged contracts until their 18th birthdays. Because prior to that birthday, the contracts were quite flimsy, and so the system comes up with Academy systems whereby they can tie a good education with footballing and provide even more incentives for the kid not to leave early. Good idea, nice solid benefits for everyone involved. But if the EU law changed tomorrow and allowed 10 year olds to sign legally binding professional contracts (God help us if something like that ever happens), then I can assure you that every Premiership team would rush in to sign every kid they have to long term contracts ... and probably half the fast lads in the vicinity too.

-Digital