Tottenham have completed the £15million signing of Wolves right-back Matt Doherty – but his big day took an unexpected twist when a slightly embarrassing old tweet of his was uncovered.
Reports on Wednesday shows the north London side had opened talks with the Midlands side over a move for the Republic of Ireland international.
With boss Jose Mourinho open to selling Serge Aurier this summer, Spurs have now brought in 28-year-old Doherty as a ready-made replacement.
Doherty becomes Spurs’ third signing of the summer after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg joined from Southampton and Joe Hart arrived from Burnley.
Tottenham fans might well raise a few eyebrows at his tweet from September 2013, however, which read: ‘Yes I’m a HUGE Arsenal fan!’
Should Doherty prove himself on the pitch, however, Spurs supporters are likely to forgive any old allegiance towards their great rivals especially given talisman Harry Kane was famously pictured wearing the Gunners’ kit as a boy.
Doherty who still had three years left to run on his contract at Molineux made 50 appearances for Wolves last season.
He also scored on seven occasions during the previous campaign as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men finished seventh in the Premier League and reached the Europa League quarter-finals.
He was also part of the Wolves side that lifted the League One title in 2013-14, as well as the team that won the Championship crown in 2017-18.
The Republic of Ireland international has made 302 appearances for Wolves in total, registering 28 goals and 41 assists since joining from Bohemians in 2010.
Tottenham have already seen departures in the right-back area this summer, with Kyle Walker-Peters joining Southampton earlier in the window.
The club are now also prepared to sell Aurier, with the Ivorian attracting interest from Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.
The 27-year-old Ivory Coast international has two years left on his Spurs contract having joined from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017 for £23m.
With Doherty now out of the exit door, Wolves are pursuing a deal for Arsenal utility player Ainsley Maitland-Niles as his replacement.
The 22-year-old Englishman made 32 appearances for the Gunners in 2019-20, providing one goal and two assists.