Mourinho doesn’t expect “crazy” Tottenham transfer window

Say one thing for Jose Mourinho — say he’s a good interview. In one of the first major interviews with the footballing media since before football shut down in March, Mourinho told Sky Sports (via Football.London) that he doesn’t expect football clubs to make “crazy investments” in the transfer window this summer like what we’ve seen in years past. And that goes especially for Tottenham Hotspur.

“To be honest, I think at this moment [the transfer window] is the last thing we are thinking about. At the moment at the club, we’re not really thinking about it. There are no talks about it because at this moment we think about safety, about following every rule, we’re trying to be perfect, it’s not just about the testing, it is about everything, we’re trying to be perfect in the club and we don’t think about it.

“I’m not going to run away. I think it’s normal that we’re going to have a different market, I don’t see the world and especially the football world, ready for some crazy numbers that we are used to having and the crazy investments that some clubs and some leagues are used to doing.

“The first question after that is when will be the transfer window? I don’t think it will be in July or August, I think it has to go back further than that, but my club, if you ask me what I want, I know it’s going to be sensible, it’s going to be balanced, it’s not going to spend rivers of money and we’re trying to respect the situation not just of football but in the world and society overall.”

Nothing too different than the rumors we’ve already heard about Spurs this summer. The COVID-19 crisis has put almost everyone in a bind with regards to transfer funding. There have been reports that Spurs are going to try and do most, if not all of their summer shopping via free transfers or swap deals, sending out players in part exchange for players that they want. It’s why Spurs are so heavily linked with free agents such as Willian and Thomas Meunier, or players entering the final year of their contracts like Ryan Fraser.

It makes sense. Nobody knows what the market is like for players, but it seems as though only the richest clubs with the deepest pockets will be shelling out anything close to last year’s market value for players when the window opens. Mourinho at least seems clear-eyed about it.

Mourinho went on to say that the Tottenham players are in good spirits, despite the quarantine-related stress, and that daily online workouts and videoconferencing sessions have helped keep morale high during the shutdown.

“The boys are good. I think we tried to stick together all the time and, since the lockdown and the decision of stopping playing and training, my intention was always to stay together and make the boys feel like we were together and I think that is more important than the reality of the zoom visual training that which was what we were doing.

“It was more about us as a group, about us as a family, trying to keep some discipline in our lives. The zoom session was everyday at 10am, everybody waking up at the same time, having a little bit of work, finishing the work, staying together in the Zoom and having a laugh, having discussions and talking about things.

“It was very important to keep mentally healthy and we could all feel that staying at home, not leaving, it was important to make that zoom session in the morning because it kept us together. We were not just training, for me it’s when you’re on the pitch, but it’s trying to keep the base of to do a little bit of prevention for when we move to the green carpet, we tried to be more ready for that.

“I think we did so well, I am pleased. More than pleased, I am proud of the players as a group, as individuals. Everyone was on time, nobody was coming late, having a bit of fun, enjoying it, finishing the session and staying together for a bit more, was good.”

The Premier League officially voted to allow contact training this week, with players encouraged to avoid unnecessary contact. This comes on the same day that there were four new positive coronavirus tests of players and staff from three clubs, bringing the total positive tests to 12 in three rounds of testing. Thus far, none of the positive tests have been at Tottenham, that we know of.