Mourinho accelerates bargain £18m Tottenham capture for prolific striker

Tottenham are ready to push through an £18m deal to sign striker Vedat Muriqi after Jose Mourinho gave the transfer the green light.

The north London club have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since Mourinho took over and will be seeking their fifth win seven games this weekend after he replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the hotseat.

And the new Spurs boss has quickly turned his attentions towards the January transfer window, with a new striker very much top of his agenda.

Mourinho is said to be keen on allowing Harry Kane time to rest to keep the England skipper fresh for the second half of the campaign but wants a more than capable replacement to fill in and keep up the club’s push for silverware and a top-four finish.

And according to reports earlier this week, Tottenham saw a big-money approach for Roma veteran Edin Dzeko turned down by the Italian giants.

However, it seems the Portuguese firebrand remains undeterred and reports in Turkish outlet Milliyet, as reported by Sport Witness, claim Mourinho has green-lighted a swoop for Fenerbahce frontman Muriqi.

The Turkish giants value the Kosovo international at around the £18m and, having sent scouts to check on him regularly over the past couple of months, Spurs are ready to make their move and meet the asking price.

With 10 goals in 14 games for his club so far this year, Mourinho believes Muriqi has what it takes to shine in the Premier League and presents the club with a genuine Plan B in attack as well as provide the necessary cover they seek for the talismanic Kane.

 

Muriqi is contracted to Fenerbahce until 2023 and has also been linked with Bournemouth and Manchester United over recent months.

However, it seems a move to Tottenham looks most likely with the North London giants ready to make their move and make Muriqi the first new arrival of the Mourinho era.

The Portuguese boss is unlikely to stop there either, with reports on Thursday claiming the Spurs chief is also hoping to bring in a classy South American playmaker in a cut-price deal, while they have also been linked again with an Italy international right-back.

The Spurs boss, meanwhile, has also sounded a warning to the rest of Europe, claiming would-be Champions League opponents will want to avoid Tottenham in the last-16 draw on Monday.

“I think the teams that finished first they wish they don’t play against us,” Mourinho said.

“I think we’re one of the strongest teams from the second group.

“I know that we are a country that goes through a crazy period, which many, many times leaves marks on players, teams, on conditions, but by the end of February I understand my players better, they understand me better. We have two more months of work together and I think we’re going to be much more ready.

“But today wasn’t a question of being or not being ready. Today was the very difficult situation of playing a game and prepare [for] a game where you put more emphasis on the players that rest than on the players that play and the result you are fighting for.

“That’s very difficult and I try to hide from the players that feeling but the players are intelligent guys and they understand clearly my focus was not on today my focus is on what’s next.”