Tottenham Hotspur’s signing of Gedson Fernandes has to go down as one of the most bizarre in their recent history.
The club announced that they had completed a deal for the midfielder in January of 2020.
He joined on an 18-month loan deal and Spurs have the option to make it permanent once the loan period ends.
Since his arrival, he has played 13 times for the club, in various positions; he has played in central midfield, on the right of midfield, at right-back and on the left flank.
His longest Premier League appearance came against Manchester United in a 1-1 draw in June; he has never once completed the 90 minutes for Spurs.
And it now appears that there is the possibility that he could well be heading back to the Portuguese club sooner rather than later.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho gave an interview to Sportv on Thursday night, which has been transcribed by Sport Witness, and he spoke about Fernandes’ situation in north London.
And while he says he would like to keep him, he has admitted that Benfica could call him back in January.
He said: “I understand the situation of the kind and Benfica’s.
“If the club wants to end the relationship, we’ll be here to collaborate because we want the good of the player. Benfica have the power to decide and it will be accepted by us.”
He added: “I will never be the one to push him or say that I don’t want him here, because I do.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This has been a remarkably odd deal all round.
Fernandes, valued at £12.1m by Transfermarkt, just hasn’t had any sort of impact at the club and one has to think that he was brought in solely to fill a squad slot.
It is difficult to know what his position actually is; he certainly doesn’t seem to know and nor does Mourinho.
The Portuguese isn’t using him, so one can understand Benfica’s position.
They could well call him back and send him out again, but it’s fair to say his time at Spurs hasn’t worked out.