Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Bruno Fernandes could be about to be taken up a notch.
According to a report by A Bola, the player’s agent, Miguel Pinho, is set to arrive in England imminently to discuss a deal regarding his client.
It is claimed Spurs are not the only side in the Premier League keen on securing the playmaker’s services this summer though, with both Manchester United and Liverpool also thought to be in the picture.
The Telegraph recently reported that Pinho was in England to discuss a potential deal, something that A Bola appear to back up, however, the Portuguese media outlet appear confident that more than just discussions will happen this time around.
There is hardly any surprise that there is such enormous interest in the 24-year-old this summer, as Fernandes had managed to record some rather incredible figures for Sporting Lisbon last season. He found the back of the net 32 times and provided his team-mates with an additional 18 assists in his 53 appearances across all competitions (Transfermarkt), making him an extremely lethal marksman.
With the future of Christian Eriksen in the air – report from Marca has suggested that Eriksen’s agent, Martin Schoots, will look to try and push a transfer to Real Madrid through this summer – the Portugal international could be the man to fill that void should it arise and that is something we have mentioned on Vital Spurs before.
With the Portuguese playmaker, bundles of goals and assists would be expected which could alleviate the pressure from some of Spurs’ other key individuals.
Going by the stats of last season (something we know is not always the be all and end all) compiled by WhoScored as well, it would seem Fernandes would also be a better upgrade on the Dane moving forward.
Having recorded more goals and assists, the Sporting man also managed more shots per match (3.6 to 2.4), more key passes per game (3.2 to 2.1) and drew more fouls from opposition defenders (2.4 compared to 0.5).
Whether Tottenham are able to get a deal across the line after spending £63million on Tanguy Ndombele remains to be seen, although the fact that they appear to have cooled their interest in Giovani Lo Celso may have made a move for Fernandes all the more important this summer.