Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has ruled out the possibility of the club signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
Spurs are believed to have held a long-standing interest in the Portugal international and, along with Manchester United, were strongly linked with a move to bring the 25-year-old to the Premier League during the summer transfer window.
Fernandes attracted interest from across Europe following a prolific season in the Portuguese capital, scoring 31 goals in all competitions, and has begun the new season in similar fashion with ten goals in 17 appearances so far.
Any deal for Fernandes has since been complicated by the midfielder’s signing of a new contract at Sporting, the club captain penning a new four-year deal which saw his release clause rise to £85 million.
Bruno Fernandes in the Primeira Liga since the 2017/18 season:
⬢ Most goal involvements
⬢ Most goals from outside of the box
⬢ Most chances created
⬢ Most shots on target
⬢ Most through balls#SquawkaScout x @FootballIndex pic.twitter.com/8kvGmqRvX2— Squawka (@Squawka) November 29, 2019
Mourinho admits that the huge fee required to secure the player makes a deal unfeasible for the North London outfit, and has ruled out the possibility of the club spending huge sums on established talent in the upcoming transfer windows.
“We are a different club at this level,” Mourinho told Sport TV, as per the Mail.
“We are not a club that is going to make big transfers in the market, nor is it going towards players who are already developed or at a certain level of expectation, also economically.
“I would definitely say no because Bruno (Fernandes) is a player of a level and value that is not for us.”
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