Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly triggered the €40 million clause to sign Pedro Porro from Sporting CP on a permanent basis after initially signing him on loan from Sporting in January.
Pedro Porro is now officially a permanent Tottenham Hotspur player. Spurs have officially activated and paid his €40 million obligatory purchase clause, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Spurs signed Porro on deadline day during the January transfer window on an initial loan deal with an obligation to make the transfer permanent, which has now been triggered, with the total deal costing the North London club around €45 million including loan fee and add-ons.
The Spaniard has had a difficult first six months at Tottenham and has had some baptisms of fire from supporters and pundits following his underwhelming debut. The turmoil surrounding Spurs hasn’t helped him settle and perform to his best abilities at all.
With Ange Postecoglou taking over Tottenham in the off-season, Porro is already onto his third manager following the departures of Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini. He ended up playing as a right winger in Spurs assistant boss Ryan Mason’s 4-2-3-1 formation, so it has really been a tricky adjustment period for him.
Tottenham have officially triggered the buy option clause for Pedro Porro — it was already mandatory, so just formal process completed. ⚪️✅ #THFC
€40m fee to Sporting for Porro, who’s now 100% Spurs player. pic.twitter.com/Ta01RB4bEF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 2, 2023
Although doubts have been raised about Porro’s defending, the 23-year-old has shown glimpses of his exceptional quality on set-piece duty and going forward, having scored three times and picked up three assists in just 15 Premier League appearances.
Despite all the challenges and the flak, the 23-year-old looks determined to make the move work. In a recent interview with Spanish media outlet AS this week, Porro made it very clear that he is not planning to give up on his move to Spurs any time soon.
“It was a giant step, in the end, I’ve been fighting for it all my life and it’s something very big,” he said in quotes relayed by Sport Witness.
“And I don’t want to wake up from this dream, it is undoubtedly one of the best leagues in the world, if not the best, and being there every day is a gift for me for all the work I have been doing since I was little in my land.”
Porro could be a bit of a square peg in a round hole under Postecoglou, as he’s not a natural fit for the inverted full-back role; his best qualities are the timing of his overlaps and his crossing. However, the Spaniard’s technical quality and versatility mean Postecoglou can tweak his role slightly to get a tune out of him.
