Tottenham and Real Sociedad deal for Willian José might be a loan

Tottenham Hotspur continue their search for a suitable option at striker in the absence of Harry Kane. There have been credible links to players such as Krzysztof Piątek, Moussa Dembele and the topic of this article, Willian José.

Spanish outlet La Razón (via Sport Witness for translation) have a report out today suggesting that the deal for the Brazilian striker may end up being a loan with an option to buy in the summer.

Tottenham will sign José on loan in exchange for an ‘important sum’, and the deal will include a purchase option that would see Real Sociedad pocket ‘around’ €70m, which is the release clause in his contract.

That sort of deal would be similar to the one they negotiated in the summer for Giovanni Lo Celso, with Tottenham initially joining on a £15m loan that included purchase options for January and the end of the season.

This makes far more sense than trying to purchase a 28-year-old striker who Real Sociedad have a reported €70m release clause.

It bears mentioning that this is not a concrete deal and that there are still links to the aforementioned Piątek, even if they are flimsy. The Dembele links are probably more for the summer, given that Lyon have little interest in letting their striker go until the season is wrapped up.

It’s clear that Mourinho wants to bring in a striker for the final run-in for the season. Spurs are still in three competitions and are about a month away from a crucial Round of 16 matchup with RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League. The options are limited if Spurs don’t bring someone in as we’ve seen Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min playing up top. For the most part, the results haven’t been great in the short-term.

We know that Spurs were pushing hard for AC Milan to do a loan deal with Piątek and it’s entirely possible that the Willian José deal is to put pressure on the Italian side to cave on their demands. Piątek is four years younger and still some room to grow while José is essentially a finished product. With just over a week until the January window slamming shut, expect more links like this to come out.