Very, very, good from Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Richarlison from Everton on a five-year deal on Friday morning, and the club's cheeky tease prior to the official announcement went down well with fans.
The 25-year-old became Spurs' fourth signing of the transfer window on Friday, signing for £60million. A number of teams were linked with a move for the Brazilian, with both Arsenal and Chelsea thought to be keen on securing his signature.
Richarlison, who joins Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster in arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, made 152 appearances for the Toffees since joining from Watford in 2018 for £40m, scoring 53 goals.
Spurs' clever transfer tease
Given that the north London club have already announced the signings of three other players, the club's social media team have been under pressure to come up with innovative ways to reveal the players.
With Richarlison arriving as a high-profile player for a hefty transfer fee, Spurs' announcement had to be good. However, the masterstroke actually came before the news officially broke - with the club producing an incredible 'transfer tease', just to stir the pot a little bit more.
At 8:50am on Friday morning, the club's official Twitter account posted a picture of a bird (well, some say pigeon) sitting on top of the iconic Golden Cockerel that sits on top of the impressive South Stand.
The bird, or pigeon, is, evidently, a nod to Richarlison's 'pigeon dance' celebration, which sees the Brazilian attacker flapping his arms around while walking like a bird.
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1542777623486545922
How did social media react?
Fans on social media loved the transfer tease, and one Twitter user wrote: "If that’s real then give the cameraman a raise because he must have sat there all day waiting for that pigeon".
https://twitter.com/thfclp__/status/1542779187219628032
Another added: "OH BABY WHAT A BIRTHDAY PRESENT".
https://twitter.com/JamieTheCoys/status/1542777720177922049
A third wrote: "What a brilliant tease".
https://twitter.com/JaiP72/status/1542787134582554624
Another said: "this is legendary, WHAT A TWEET".
https://twitter.com/sneharants/status/1542777790902071296
A fifth noted: "Outstanding work".
https://twitter.com/CockOnBallStory/status/1542782221861412865
Nod to Gazza
While the 4.5m cockerel, created by London Mould Makers, is larger than the replica, it features a nod to the original statue, courtesy of several bullet dents. They relate to a story involving Paul Gascoigne, where he is said to have shot at the cockerel using an air rifle during his time at the club.
https://twitter.com/WalkTheLinesLDN/status/1429766205779456002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1429766205779456002%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2Ffootball%2Fspurs-pull-off-genius-transfer-tease-before-announcing-signing-20220701
John Fennelly, a club historian, recalled the incident when speaking to the Spurs website back in 1988.
"The cockerel was falling apart. It was dented and in pretty poor condition," he said. "The story was the dents had been caused in the Blitz. But the truth was the damage was done by Gazza - with an air rifle.
"He tried to deny it but he'd been spotted."
Middlesbrough right-wing back Djed Spence, who enjoyed a stellar campaign at Nottingham Forest last season, has also been linked with a move to Antonio Conte's side.
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