Report: Carlos Vinicius loan nearly a done deal

The only remaining obstacle to Tottenham signing Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius on loan is the Brazilian receiving a work permit, both ESPN and the Evening Standard report. As we explained yesterday, the potential for the deal arose after Benfica were eliminated from the Champions League and needed to shed wages. Since then, Benfica appear to have consented to Daniel Levy’s preferred loan-to-buy arrangement in an agreement that’s now just waiting on the paperwork. Things could still fall through, but Tottenham seem very close to ending their long wait for a backup striker.

After searching in vain for a striker all summer (and in windows past), any move at this point would be exciting, but Carlos Vinicius isn’t just any old striker: the 25-year-old put up impressive numbers in the Primeira Liga last year, scoring 25 goals and logging 13 assists. With the optional price tag at the end of his loan quoted at a reasonable £36 million, the deal seems like a great one all around. Kane gets backup, Mourinho gets a 6’ 3” target man to rotate into an increasingly menacing attack, Carlos Vinicius gets to try his hand at the rapid, physical Premier League game, and Benfica get to balance their books. We’ll have more coverage if and when the loan goes through, but at the moment, the final week of the transfer window is heating up nicely at Hotspur Way.