Mourinho does not expect to see ‘crazy’ transfers after virus
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has warned that the transfer market will look drastically different due to the coronavirus fallout, saying football will not be ready for “crazy numbers”. Spurs bought Steven Bergwijn for £27mn from PSV in January, while also breaking their club record to sign Tanguy Ndombele for a reported £54mn last year.
But Mourinho believes the Premier League and other leagues around the world will need a different approach to cope with the financial impact of Covid-19. “It is normal you are going to have a different market,” the 57-year-old told Sky Sports.
“I don’t see the world, and especially the football world, ready for some crazy numbers we are used to having and some crazy investments that sometimes some clubs and some leagues are used to doing. But my first question after that is: ‘When will the transfer window be?’ Because I don’t think it will be July-August any more, it will obviously have to go further than that.
“If you ask me what I want in my club, I would like my club to be what I know it is going to be: sensible, balanced, not going to spend rivers of money, and we are trying to respect the situation, not just of football but of the world and society overall.”
The Premier League is yet to set a date for a return and players have not resumed full-contact training. Top-flight clubs approved phase two of training yesterday as they inch closer to a restart after the postponement of the Premier League in March.
The Bundesliga has already resumed and Mourinho is itching to get playing again.
“Honestly, since the moment Bundesliga started, the Portuguese league and Spanish league announced a date to start, I think it is the most difficult moment for us, because we want to play,” he said. “It is hard to see other countries playing football and we don’t do it.”
The extended break has given Spurs’ injured players, such as Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Moussa Sissoko, and Steven Bergwijn time to recover and Mourinho said they should all be available when the season resumes. “I cannot say at this moment that they are ready to play... but all of them are not injured anymore. They are training, it is what it is and it has a lot of limitations... but Harry, Son, Bergwijn, Sissoko, all of them are fine,” he added.
“... I think in a couple of weeks they will be able to play. Of course not to their maximum potential, I don’t think anyone can at this moment, but they will be ready to go.” Tottenham were in eighth place, four points off the European qualifying spots, when the season was suspended.