The former RC Lens defender is now a fully-fledged Tottenham Hotspur first team member.
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Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the permanent signing of centre-back Kevin Danso with the obligation to buy clause in his loan deal activated.
The north London club published a ‘player update’ on Saturday morning, confirming which first team stars would be leaving the club and which are staying on. In that statement, updates were provided on Danso and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the latter having spent the season on loan at Marseille.
The statement read: “As previously announced, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's loan to Marseille will become a permanent transfer this summer, while Kevin Danso's loan to us from RC Lens becomes a permanent move.”
Tottenham Hotspur confirm permanent Kevin Danso deal
While the club did not confirm the fee forked out for Danso, it was widely reported that the move from RC Lens would cost £21 million. Danso initially arrived at Spurs at the start of February with Ange Postecoglou’s defensive line blighted by injuries.
The 26-year-old waited no time to make his Tottenham Hotspur debut, playing 90 minutes in the painful 4-0 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. He went on to make 15 appearances for Spurs before the end of the season and played 12 minutes of the Europa Cup final win over Manchester United earlier this month.
The Austria international is a product of the FC Augsburg academy and previously spent a short spell in the Premier League when on loan at Southampton over the 2019/20 season. The Saints did have the option to buy the player after that spell but he returned to Austria before moving to Lens in 2021.
Danso made 128 appearances for Lens and was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year in 2023. He will bring some Champions League experience to Postecoglou’s side next season, having made six appearances in the tournament for Lens in the 2023 Group Stage for Lens.
The centre-back has earned praise for the way he has taken to life in London but did take a few weeks to settle in. Danso was criticised by former Watford striker Troy Deeney on talkSPORT early on, with the pundit suggesting he would not be worth the £21 million investment.
Troy Deeney criticises £21m Spurs signing in rant
Deeney said: “None of the players that they have brought in have hit the ground running. Again, Spurs fans are going to go mad, but this is the harsh truth. The centre-half, Danso, was going to go to Wolves. That’s it, enough said.
“He was at Southampton when I was running past him, and I cannot run past f*** all. You’ve wasted money. [Radu] Dragusin, £25million on Dragusin. That’s £50m on two centre-halves who are f****** s***.
“You have got to look at recruitment. Again, the two centre-halves I am on about, you are going to be mad at me, but it is the truth. I have watched enough football to know this Premier League is not for you.”
Speaking after his Liverpool debut, Postecoglou had said: "Yeah they did OK. Kevin was really positive, as was Maty. It's hard, you know, throwing guys in after their first training sessions, it's not ideal.
“That's part of our dilemma at the moment of trying to get some fluency and consistency but also knowing we have to keep tinkering with the starting line up to account for everything going on. But I thought they acquitted themselves well."
In other news, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham fans face huge mileage and financial hit after Championship trio promoted.