Is Tonali, however, in north London due to geographical and financial factors - rather than sporting ones? When that question was put to Murphy, the ex-Tottenham midfielder - speaking in association with BetWrightfootball betting - toldGOAL: “I think it would be naive to think that London isn't a pull for a lot of the foreign boys. I say that through experience and speaking to them.
“My gut feeling is that if one of the really big boys, i.e. Man U, Man City, Liverpool, came in for him as strongly as Tottenham in terms of finances as well, then he might have gone there. Because to pick a location over winning trophies isn't something many players would do. But London is a pull. I don't know who was in for him for sure.
“The one advantage you have going to Tottenham, other than London, is the financial side. They've really pushed the boat out to get him. Maybe some of the other clubs who were in for him didn't push the boat out to that level.
“The other factor, to give him credit and other footballers, because not every footballer is just greed-obsessed and location-obsessed, is that you have a conversation with the coach when you're talking about which club you're going to go to. Maybe if there was interest from elsewhere, there wasn't a guarantee you're always going to play. I don't know that, but I know of situations in the past where a player would choose a club where he's been reassured that he's going to be the main man, he's going to play every week.
“I would imagine the mix of being the main man in the middle of the park, phenomenal wages, and London probably was a mixture of all three. I'd like to think it was a mixture of that as well.
“I don't like to think of players purely moving based on money or location, but it does happen. I think that he's a terrific signing and they've done really well to get him irrelevant of the cost and the amount of wages. I think he'll really improve them.”