Fernandes's arrival at Spurs set to hasten the departure of Eriksen

Jose Mourinho has made his first signing since becoming Spurs manager with the capture of Portuguese midfielder Gedson Fernandes from Benfica. The 21-year-old arrives in London on an initial 18 month loan deal with a view to making the move permanent at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

Fernandes has made just two appearances for the Portuguese national team and has only played 213 minutes of top-flight football so far this season after damaging a metatarsal during the summer. The youngster shot to fame at the Under-17 European Championships several years ago when he was the stand-out player as his country lifted the trophy.

The acquisition of Fernandes has now heightened speculation that Danish play-maker Christian Eriksen will leave Spurs during the January transfer window with Inter Milan heavily linked with his services. Eriksen is out of contract in the summer but Italian sports journal Corriere dello Sport writes that Inter don’t want to hang around until then and would rather get the deal tied up in the next couple of weeks.

The player has made no secret of his unhappiness at being overlooked in the starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and although Mourinho has maintained that he remains part of his plans moving forward, Eriksen seems intent on finding pastures new for the remainder of the current campaign and beyond.