Honestly, this has been one of the quietest Tottenham Hotspur news periods since I started writing for this blog 15 years ago. The team is only playing one match per week, they’re currently in Marbella doing a warm weather team bonding and training exercise, and there just isn’t… anything… really to talk about. Say what you want about the transfer window but at least I never was short of things to write about.
But one thing that people had noticed this week was the absence of Mateus Fernandes from any Marbella training photos or videos. This being Tottenham’s fanbase, naturally people expected the worst and were bracing for news that he tore an ACL or a hamstring in training and will be out six months or something.
The truth is a lot more pleasant. Acccording to Alasdair Gold, Fernandes hasn’t been in training much this week because his partner just had a baby, making him a first time father.
Now as anyone who has ever been a parent knows, those early days, weeks and months are exhilarating, exciting, and extremely, extremely tiring. I certainly don’t envy Mateus and his partner as they welcome young Gonçalo to the world, as they’ll be walking zombies for weeks. That said, plenty of footballers have become fathers during the Premier League season and have suffered few ill effects on the pitch from their parental duties and I’d assume the same here.
That said, I can absolutely understand and support the club’s decision to give him a spot of parental leave so he can go and bond with his new son. In fact, I’d say it was weird if he DIDN’T want to be home with his family after becoming a father for the first time. If it were a choice between going to Marbella and spending time at home changing diapers and holding a newborn at 3 a.m., I’d choose the baby every single time, as would most people.
Congratulations, Mateus and partner, and welcome to the world, Baby Gonçalo. Keep him away from Chirpy.