Tottenham deal underway for ‘personal’ transfer target with three traits perfect for Mourinho
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly made RB Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer a ‘personal’ transfer target for the upcoming window.
Mourinho has enjoyed an indifferent season in his first full campaign at Spurs. The north London club had a strong start and sat top of the Premier League. However, they have tailed off and suffered a shock Europa League exit last month. What’s more, they will start the Carabao Cup final as firm underdogs to Manchester City.
Tottenham brought several fresh faces to the club last summer, including Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Gareth Bale.
Amid a poor last few months in which Mourinho has faced calls to get the sack, though, chairman Daniel Levy believes that the manager is still largely working with predecessor Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
As such, the Portuguese will reportedly get another season to shape the squad how he sees fit.
According to Football Insider, Mourinho wants Austrian midfielder Sabitzer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In fact, the coach has put him in the ‘personal target’ bracket, in which Hojbjerg fell last summer.
As such, Spurs are supposedly ‘laying the groundwork’ for a deal for Sabitzer. The 27-year-old is edging towards leaving Leipzig this summer amid uncertainty over his contract.
He has one year left on his deal, but his reported desire to find a new club could prompt Leipzig to sell up this summer to avoid losing him on a free transfer.
Football Insider adds that Mourinho feels that the midfielder has the ‘energy, physicality and technical ability’ to star in the English top flight.
Sabitzer put in an impressive display against Spurs last season in the Champions League.
The Austria international caught the eye with two goals in 20 minutes to end Tottenham‘s hopes of progression past the last 16 stage.
The report adds that this is not the first time that Mourinho has made a player a ‘personal target’ of his; he did so with Inter defender Milan Skriniar last season, but a deal never materialised.
Pundit sick of Bale, Tottenham reunion
Meanwhile, despite Bale’s arrival as a marquee loan signing last summer, his spell back at Tottenham has largely failed to work out.
The 31-year-old has suffered injury problems and only enjoyed one solid run of his top form.
As such, one pundit has had enough and claimed that the situation just needs to “end”.
READ MORE: Pundit sick of ‘shocking’ Bale displays, tells Spurs man to pack up and go
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