Tottenham move first on Fernandes
Tottenham Hotspur’s summer transfer plans took a twist last night as the club opened negotiations over a move for Sporting Lisbon’s midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
Manchester United have been tracking the 24-year-old Portugal international this summer, but Spurs officials have flown out to Lisbon to try to set up a deal.
Tottenham are still interested in Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who has been one of the club’s primary transfer targets, and had shelved interest in Fernandes to pursue the Argentine.
But having so far failed to agree a fee for Lo Celso, who Betis value at £68 million, Spurs are now making serious inquiries over Fernandes as they look to strengthen manager Mauricio Pochettino’s squad ahead of the closure of the transfer window next Thursday.
Tottenham hope to be able to land either Fernandes or Lo Celso for around £55million, although Sporting have previously quoted a fee as high as £70million for Fernandes.
There remains the possibility that United will spring into action and lodge their own bid for Fernandes now that Tottenham have sent their own delegation to Portugal.
Tottenham have so far only added £55million signing Tanguy Ndombele to their squad this summer, having loaned Jack Clarke back to Leeds United, and Pochettino’s frustration over the club’s slow progress has been evident in recent weeks, culminating in his outburst during the Audi Cup tournament in Munich in midweek when he suggested that his job description might have to be changed from manager to coach.
However, sources close to Tottenham insisted that Pochettino would still be fully involved in the decision-making over transfers in and out of the club.