Late into deadline day with Tottenham fans eagerly awaiting confirmation of Pedro Porro's arrival, a very surprising statement was released regarding Matt Doherty. An exit in January was expected for the former Wolves man as football.london reported on Tuesday morning that Doherty was closing in on a loan move to Atletico, with no option or obligation to buy, however that turned out to not be the case.
In that post regarding Doherty's move it was clarified that a mutual contract termination had been agreed and therefore the right wing-back would no longer be considered a Spurs player. The news caught most off guard but the reason behind why a loan move was not secured soon became clear.
A FIFA ruling states that clubs are only permitted to send out a maximum of eight players on loan per season to different countries - a quota that Spurs have already filled. Loan moves in Europe for Tanguy Ndombele, Giovanni Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon, Harry Winks, Joe Rodon, Destiny Udogie, Bryan Gill and Djed Spence meant that a permanent exit was the only solution if Doherty wanted to leave.
READ MORE: Pedro Porro Tottenham shirt number confirmed following £39.5m deadline day transfer
His departure does leave a spot at right wing-back for the arrival of Porro, who was confirmed as a Spurs player no less than an hour later in a loan deal with a €45m (£39.5m) obligation to buy.
Despite acquiring a right wing-back, Spurs are actually a body lighter in that position than they were at the start of the window, with Spence joining Rennes on loan until the end of the season. Doherty's exit, that was announced a few hours later, left Spurs with just Emerson Royal until Porro was confirmed.
Spence's departure this month was hardly a surprise to most as the 22-year-old desperately needs first-team minutes, however Doherty leaving and doing so permanently caught everyone unaware including the first-team squad.
The Tottenham players and Doherty's former team-mates were left shocked when they heard about the sudden change in his situation on Tuesday, football.london understands. Since his arrival at the club Doherty, regardless of his playing time, has always been shown as a positive influence on the dressing room.
Many videos posted to social media showed the type of character Doherty was among his colleagues, with a funny video involving him, Eric Dier, Fraser Forster and Harry Kane on a plane heading to South Korea for a pre-season tour sticking out in memory.
Doherty understandably will be missed by his old team-mates and while every time he played it was clear to see he put in his all, ultimately his two-and-a-half-year spell in north London will not be looked back on fondly, given his success in a similar role at Wolves.
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