January Transfer Window: A recap of Tottenham Hotspur's winter business | Premier League 2019-20
The January transfer window is now over, and after what felt like a non-stop carousel of rumours surrounding the comings and goings at Tottenham Hotspur, we finally know what Jose Mourinho’s squad will look like through the rest of the 2019-20 season.
Overall the window was a mixed bag for Spurs, with the club making a total of 5 permanent deals and 11 loan ones, with 2 new players arriving and plenty more leaving. Will Mourinho have been happy with the moves that the club have made? He claims he is, but the truth may be somewhere in the middle.
Here is a recap – in the form of some pros and cons – of Tottenham’s winter transfer dealings.
Pro: Gedson and Bergwijn join the club
Two new players arrived in North London during the January window; Portuguese midfielder Gedson Fernandes joined from Benfica on an 18-month loan with an option to buy, while Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn was signed from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of £27m.
Both signings feel like smart ones for Tottenham; both men have both international and Champions League experience, and yet Gedson is just 21 years old while Bergwijn is 22. That means that while both men clearly have the ability to add something to Spurs’ first XI immediately, they are also young enough to be moulded into the kind of players that Jose Mourinho can make use of for years to come.
Bergwijn has already made a huge impact, scoring on his debut in Spurs’ 2-0 win over Manchester City this weekend, and while Gedson has only made appearances from the bench thus far, the skills he possesses could make him a long-term replacement for the ageing – and currently injured – Moussa Sissoko.
Given the relatively low price of Bergwijn and the fact that the Gedson deal is a try-before-you-buy one, both signings represent good business for Spurs.