Shakhtar Donetsk chief fires warning to Tottenham over Solomon chase: ‘We will deal with them in court’

Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin has, on Thursday, sent a warning message to Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur.

This comes amid ongoing links between the north London club and Shakhtar star Manor Solomon.

For those not aware, wide-man Solomon spent this past season in England, notching five goals in 24 appearances for Marco Silva’s Fulham.

This came after FIFA put in place new rules regarding the Status and Transfer of Players, on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Solomon was as a result allowed to suspend his contract for a year, opening the door for a year-long loan to Fulham.

The powers that be at Spurs, in turn, are understood to be keen to take advantage of a similar scenario this summer, after ‘Annex 7′ was extended through the summer of 2024.

With Solomon’s contract set to expire in 12 months’ time, any loan deal struck by Tottenham would therefore, essentially, be a free transfer.

FIFA’s decision has since been met by understandable backlash on the part of clubs across Ukraine and Russia, who remain adamant that they are being unfairly punished for a situation completely out of their control.

And, as alluded to above, one individual who is ready to continue down the legal route (after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld FIFA’s verdict), should Spurs or any other club attempt to formulate another year-long agreement for Solomon, comes in the form of Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Palkin was drawn on the situation of the club’s talented attacker.

And, after first revealing that Solomon has rejected his plea to return to base in Donetsk this summer, the Ukrainian asserted in no uncertain terms that Shakhtar are prepared to ‘deal with Tottenham in court’:

“I contacted Solomon and his agent and invited him back to our club. I said ‘you can play all the games in Champions League, you will be in the starting eleven’ but he doesn’t want to move and I believe he will stay in England.

“Finally, where he will go, I don’t know. In any case, if you go to Tottenham, we will deal with Tottenham in court in this case. Everything comes to a simple situation: it sounds like unjust enrichment.

“Can you imagine, we pay big money for this player and finally Tottenham receives him for free? It is not fair in respect of our club. We will definitely go to court and we will fight for ourselves.”

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