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Tottenham mid-season decision identified as reason Bruno Fernandes transfer fell through
Tottenham were strongly linked with a move for Bruno Fernandes in the summer transfer window.
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Tottenham could have once again been an interesting option for Bruno Fernandes in January, had they stuck with Mauricio Pochettino. That’s the suggestion from Yannick Bolasie, who played alongside Fernandes at Sporting Lisbon this season.
Fernandes was subject to plenty of interest in the transfer window last summer, with Tottenham showing plenty of interest.
Sporting’s president Frederico Varandas had said Spurs were the only team to make a “serious offer” while Manchester United were tentatively linked.
Tottenham were said to have made a bid of £40million with close to £17m in add-ons for winning the Premier League and Champions League, which ultimately proved too difficult for Sporting to accept.
Mauricio Pochettino ended up missing out on the Portugal international and just a few months later, with the club sitting 14th in the table, Tottenham decided to part ways with the Argentine head coach.
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Jose Mourinho was brought in as his replacement but Bolasie, who is on loan at Sporting from Everton, believes Fernandes may have ended up choosing Tottenham over United in January if Pochettino had remained in charge.
“He was thinking about going to Tottenham in the summer but I think when the manager went that changes a lot of things,” he told the Daily Mirror.
Fernandes is expected to be heavily involved for United in the second half of the season as the Red Devils bid to finish in the top four.
And Bolasie has explained what United fans should expect to see from the 25-year-old.
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“Bruno likes to go and get the ball and might end up on the left side or end up on the right,” he added.
“He needs to play with that protection behind to give him that freedom to venture around rather than adapting to the team.
“It will be interesting to see how United end up using him.
“But he always wanted to play in the Premier League for sure and it is going to be a good test for him.
“It much slower in Portugal and no-where near the Premier League tempo.
“In some of the games in Portugal he could probably coast through whereas in the Premier League no matter who you are playing, the opponents won't let you walk over them.”
Tottenham still did some business in the January transfer window, bringing in Gedson Fernandes and Steven Bergwijn while also making Giovani Lo Celso’s loan move from Real Betis permanent.