Tottenham were linked with a move for Bruno Fernandes over the summer, but the Lilywhites failed to bring him to London after complications in negotiations with Sporting CP. According to Dan Kilpatrick of the London Evening Standard, Sporting’s president Frederico Varandas rejected Spurs’ £58m bid due to the “difficulties” of their offer.
Daniel Levy wanted to pay £40m and £17.9m in add-ons, but Sporting were unwilling to accept as Tottenham paying a third of the fee was dependent on their Premier League and Champions League success. Varandas admitted his club weren’t in the best financial situation to reject the Londoners, but he wasn’t pleased with so much of the money being bonus-related so he knocked back the offer.
Varandas told Sporting’s official website: “It was ‘impossible’ to retain Bruno Fernandes, but we did it. We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on his worth, and we had bids, but only a serious offer from Tottenham that was 45m euros plus 20m in add-ons; winning the Premier League and the Champions League. Finding these add-ons difficult, I decided not to accept.”
Fernandes has made 114 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating 92 goals. The 24-year-old has been in fine form this season too, contributing six goals in four Primeira Liga games. Tottenham failed to land his signature, but they still strengthened their midfield with Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso (loan).
Supporters won’t be shocked to hear that Levy’s tough negotiations led to a deal falling apart…