Wage Cap Worries: Why Spurs Need to be Wary of Losing Their Best Players

Generally, the details of a Premier League club's wage structure are quite a well kept secret, with the majority of the figures being thrown around being merely speculative. In Tottenham Hotspur's case, however, the details of their '£100k per week' wage cap have been well documented in recent times, even more so due to the fact that salaries and transfer fees have become absurd in modern football. 

As much as Spurs' tight financial restrictions coupled with relatively successful football can be admired, the advancing finances of today's game will inevitably put the pressure on (no pun intended) chairman Daniel Levy and boss Mauricio Pochettino to deliver silverware and medals to their star players, or risk seeing them depart north London. 

Key players such as Toby Alderweireld, Dele Alli and Harry Kane have demonstrated the skills of players who deserve to earn over £100k per week consistently over the last three years, the time in which Spurs have failed to win a single trophy and finished 3rd and 2nd in the Premier League. 

Coveted players will undoubtedly realise that their careers will not go on forever, and will see reason to depart the club in search of trophies and inevitably a much more lucrative contract that comes part and parcel with playing for a big club today. 

The previously named trio of Alderweireld, Alli and Kane currently earn £75k, £55k and £100k per week respectively, and have all starred week in week out in what is regarded as the hardest domestic league in Europe. To compare, the likes of Manchester City bench warmers Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are currently 'earning' £120k per week, whilst bit part Fabian Delph makes £90k. 

To put their importance to their teams in perspective, last season Alli recorded 22 goals and nine assists in all competitions, whilst Kane notched 35 goals and made a further seven, whereas City's Gundogan scored five and made one with Delph netting just once. 

For the latter pair to be earning more than the former is ludicrous, and it appears that the Tottenham dressing room are starting to sit up and take notice. In a recent interview with The Sun, Spurs left back Danny Rose revealed that he 'knows his worth' and that he is not getting paid what he deserves, which sent shock waves around the Premier League and raised the question of whether the rest of the Tottenham dressing room shared Rose's thoughts. 

Allegedly, they do. Rose reportedly returned to training to a hero's welcome as other members of the squad threatened to join him in voicing their discontent, and whilst you and I would deem them as 'greedy' or 'ungrateful', the majority of them would be contextually justified in asking for a pay rise compared to what their peers at other big clubs earn. 

With the north London side set to move into their new state of the art stadium from next season, you could strongly argue that the club is on the up as they consistently compete at the right end of the table. On the other hand, if their star players continue to have their pay capped with no medals to boot, they will be more and more tempted to seek pastures new in search of financial and footballing glory.