Tottenham might have only made four new signings over the summer, but they’ve also done the far more important business of tying down some of their biggest players to new deals.
Victor Wanyama, Vincent Janssen, Georges-Kévin N’Koudou and Moussa Sissoko have all rocked up at White Hart Lane this summer, with Pau Lopez joining on loan, but fans have been vocal in noting how that compares to volume of players recruited by other clubs.
Not to worry, though. Barely a day has passed without a key player putting pen to paper on a long-term contract.
But is there something fishy about the updates?
Here’s Christian Eriksen signing his new deal
NEW CONTRACT: We are delighted to announce that @ChrisEriksen8 has signed a new contract with the Club until 2020. pic.twitter.com/AvJ2NFEQF7
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 6, 2016
Compare the photo to that of youngster Harry Winks
NEW CONTRACT: We are delighted to announce that @HarryWinks has signed a new contract with the Club until 2021. pic.twitter.com/1r3ckspEE6
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 16, 2016
And Eric Dier
📝 We are delighted to announce that @ericdier has signed a new contract with the Club which will run until 2021. 📝 pic.twitter.com/RH5H8jikGK
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2016
And, most recently, Dele Alli.
We're delighted to announce that @Dele_Alli has signed a new contract with the Club which will run until 2022. pic.twitter.com/BKq28SLXeA
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 19, 2016
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has what looks like an identical pose in all four photos, and he seems to be wearing the same suit and tie, with his hair and stubble both the same length.
Is it too much to suggest the club tied down all four players on the same day, before rolling out the announcements in case the fans needed cheering up further down the line?
Like, for example, in the days after a Champions League defeat at home to Monaco.
It’s certainly occurred to a few other people.
It's almost as if these wondrous transfer coups, in which Spurs sign their own players, happened on the same day pic.twitter.com/24l0DBsiMs
— Daniel Harris (@DanielHarris) September 19, 2016
Do you think they signed contracts the same day & staggered the news? Poch's suit/hair/stubble remarkably similar https://t.co/AZtzouF6gU
— Ben Lyttleton (@benlyt) September 19, 2016
Naturally, they’d need to throw in a different photo in among the identical ones, just to throw people off the scent.
They’re not stupid, after all.
NEW CONTRACT: We are delighted to announce that @tom_carroll92 has signed a new contract with the Club until 2019. pic.twitter.com/NKF5AsC0Wa
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 16, 2016
Of course, there is another option. Perhaps Pochettino wasn’t even there for any of them, and it’s a very convincing cardboard cutout combined with some smart video editing around the announcements.
That would certainly explain this…
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2016
The plot thickens.
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