Levy struck gold by selling Spurs flop who's now goalless for £13m

Levy struck gold by selling Spurs flop who’s now goalless for £13m

Tottenham Hotspur have had numerous forgotten players over the years, with the club experiencing plenty of misses among the hits.

However, that hasn’t been the case under Ange Postecoglou, with Spurs having an impressive summer window, signing the likes of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.

Roberto Soldado, Tanguy Ndombele, and Vincent Janssen are all examples of players who failed to live up to their hype, with the club failing to recoup the costs via their sales.

That said, there is one player who was sold by Mauricio Pochettino that the Lilywhites were able to nearly double their money on.

Nacer Chadli’s time at Spurs

In 2013, Nacer Chadli joined Spurs for £7m from FC Twente in the Netherlands, after scoring 18 goals and providing 11 assists in all competitions during the 2012/13 campaign.

The Belgian struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League initially, with his first goal coming in February 2014 against Newcastle United in a 4-0 win. That was the attacker’s only goal in 24 league appearances that season.

Chadli’s statistics at Spurs

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2013/14

34

5

6

2014/15

45

13

5

2015/16

40

7

4

Stats via Transfermarkt.

However, Chadli was fantastic in the following season, playing as a left-winger in 35 top-flight games. Over those matches, the versatile attacker scored 11 goals and created five, his best-ever return in the league.

Unfortunately, in his final season at the club, the number 22 struggled to live up to the standards he set in the previous year, with the attack of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Heung-min Son limiting his starts to just ten.

Nacer Chadli’s career since leaving Spurs

Prior to his exit, Chadli’s performances were beginning to frustrate the Tottenham faithful, with journalist Dominic Booth far from a fan of his, stating: “When he’s bad, he’s woefully, dreadfully terrible.”

However, in the summer of 2016, the Belgium star moved to West Bromwich Albion for £13m in a club-record deal, which actually somehow saw Spurs profit from the deal.

His first season at West Brom saw Chadli net five goals in 31 matches, but his second campaign was disrupted by injuries, with him missing 28 games via three setbacks.

Luckily, the attacker returned just in time for the 2018 World Cup, where he starred for the Red Devils with a goal and an assist, which ultimately led to Monaco securing his services. His spell in France lasted just one season, with another hamstring strain keeping him out for 11 matches.

Chadli’s Career Stats

Club

Games

G/A

Westerlo

47

10

Basaksehir

51

12

Anderlecht

19

13

Monaco

22

0

West Brom

38

11

Spurs

119

40

Stats via Transfermarkt

The rest of his career has been completely ruined by injuries, picking up 15 separate problems since 2020, with a move to Belgium and then Turkey following his short stint in Monaco.

However, the 34-year-old is still playing today for KVC Westerlo back in Belgium, where he has failed to score all season and only provided two assists in 17 games.

It’s clear that selling Chadli for £13m all those years ago was a complete masterclass.