Mourinho harbours key concern and abandons Tottenham winger chase
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has called off a move for Ryan Fraser because he isn’t convinced about the Bournemouth winger’s ability to play in a top-six team, according to reports.
Spurs have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old for a number of weeks and the latest report indicated that they were “serious candidates” for his signature.
The Scotland international was said to be “interested” in moving to Tottenham and was ready to snub interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.
According to the Daily Express, Fraser’s intention remains to move to Spurs but Mourinho has now retracted his interest in the winger.
The newspaper says that Mourinho is not willing to take the chance on Fraser, adding that Arsenal have also cooled their interest.
Instead, it is claimed that Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson wants Fraser at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles boss singling the winger out as a top target.
Indeed, Palace are looking to back Hodgson in the transfer market after he signed a one-year contract extension in March.
Fraser is one of a number of players – including Chelsea attacker Willian and Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana – whose contracts are set to expire on June 30.
Fraser is not expected to stay at Bournemouth but with the Premier League set to resume and go beyond that date, he – like those in a similar situation – could be offered a short-term extension to allow them to finish the campaign.
The Cherries winger’s form has dropped off this season, but he finished the last campaign with the second-highest number of assists (14) behind Eden Hazard.
In other news, Tottenham have reportedly been joined by Chelsea in the hunt for Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik.