Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho wants to strengthen in three areas of the pitch in the next transfer window, according to Sky Sports.
Mourinho made two signings in his first window in charge of Spurs in January, bringing in midfielder Gedson Fernandes on an 18-month loan deal and then landing Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn for £27million.
Tottenham also made Giovani Lo Celso’s loan move from Real Betis permanent after an impressive first six months at the club for the Argentine playmaker.
But Spurs’ form took an alarming dip, after an initial upsurge under the Portuguese tactician, before football was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic last month.
And Mourinho is keen on strengthening defensively, with a new centre-back, right-back and a holding midfielder his top priorities.
Sky Sports reporter Paul Gilmour also says a backup striker to Harry Kane, who has been linked with a summer exit, cannot be ruled out.
“Well from what I’m hearing the priority areas if business can be done will be centre-back, right-back and a central defensive midfielder,” Gilmour said.
“I don’t think you can rule out a backup striker either, given that they tried to get [Odion] Ighalo, [Olivier] Giroud and a few others in January, and it’s usually easier to pick up a bargain in the summer months.
“But again, let’s wait and see what the landscape looks like when football restarts.
“But certainly from what I’m hearing the priority areas are those three I mentioned – centre-back, right-back and a central defensive midfielder.”
Spurs are known to be chasing West Ham centre-back Issa Diop, while Norwich star Max Aarons is a major option at right-back. As for a defensive midfielder, Mourinho has been linked with the likes of Lille star Boubakary Soumare, Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and outstanding Leeds prospect Kalvin Phillips.
However, Gilmour admits clubs will have to be “creative” with their signings once football resumes again.
He adds that it is likely there will be more loan deals as well as staggered payments for permanent signings.
“There will be a big impact across the market and that will be felt right across the industry,” Gilmour added.
“I think there’s a feeling that football will bounce back from it but the key question is when.
“In the short term, in terms of a lot of the clubs planning for any potential transfer market, we might see an increase in the number of loans with options to buy.
“I think it was already a fairly common way of doing a deal anyway.
“There will also be a lot of staggered permanent payments.
“So for a club like Spurs I think it will be creative loans or fairly specific structure payments.
“The club is looking to strengthen we’re being told but what they have to play with is unclear and it won’t be clear until football returns.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham have been locked in secret talks to sign Arkadiusz Milik for a number of weeks – and have left a sizeable bid on the table with Napoli, according to reports in Italy. Read more…
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