Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has reportedly turned down a move to China that could have earned the midfielder around a staggering £430,000-per-week.
The reason he turned down the big money move to the Chinese Super League is because Toure values the standard of football more than he does the money. Hearing that from a Premier League player is promising, and we hope that no others are tempted by a move to China in the next few transfer windows, although it seems like Diego Costa might be tempted.
Some of you might ask the question, why is Yaya Toure being linked with a move away from Manchester City so soon after rejecting this big money move to China. Well, as the Metro report, the Ivorian could be heading into his last few months at the Etihad Stadium. This is due to the fact that Pep Guardiola is thought to not be keen on the idea of renewing Toure’s contract at the end of the season.
The Metro have been rating each of the top six’s chances of signing the midfielder over the summer transfer window, and they claim that Spurs have a ‘2 out of 5’ chance of making an offer for the 33-year-old come the end of the season.
Toure has made ten league appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side after resolving an off the field issue earlier on this campaign, and seems to be enjoying his football. The midfielder has scored on three occasions this season and despite recording no assists, Toure has created nine chances and made nine key passes this term.
Guardiola and Toure himself will have been less than impressed with his performance on Sunday afternoon as Manchester City fell to a 4-0 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park. At 33 years of age, you would have to question whether Toure would be able to perform consistently at a high level for Spurs.
Will Spurs go for Toure over the summer?
If you look at the midfielders currently is Spurs’ squad, they are pretty well covered with the starting pair of Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele backed up by Harry Winks and Eric Dier. Four defensive midfielders would seem reasonable for rotational purposes and for injuries. However, with Pochettino now switching to a back three, Eric Dier now drops in at the back, leaving Spurs with just Harry Winks as backup in the midfield.
With this formation change that Mauricio Pochettino has implemented into the side, Spurs might want to look at additional backup in the defensive midfield either now or in the summer, even more so after selling Tom Carroll to Swansea.
Despite turning down a massive move to China, Yaya Toure’s wages are still pretty sizeable. Taking this into account, along with his age, I think that Spurs will look elsewhere for defensive midfield cover, perhaps targeting a younger player to slot into the squad.
