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Tottenham Pull Out of Zé Luís Deal Amid Work Permit Concerns

​Tottenham Hotspur have pulled out of negotiations for Porto striker Zé Luís because they do not believe he would stand a chance of obtaining a work permit to play in England.


Harry Kane's long-term injury has forced Spurs to search Europe for new strikers, and Zé Luís emerged as a potential option. José Mourinho was thought to be keen on a loan deal for the striker, while Porto were open to letting him go.

Ze Luis

However, according to the ​Daily Mail, the deal has been cancelled after ​Spurs encountered too many problems in ​transfer negotiations, with the work permit issue one of several concerns the club had with the deal.


Zé Luís, who hails from Cape Verde, does not have a Portuguese passport from his time with Porto, meaning he would have to apply for a special work permit to play in England.

There are special criteria which a player must meet to qualify for such a permit, including a player's reputation at international level. Unfortunately, Cape Verde are 75th in the FIFA rankings, and the ​Premier League only consider nations in the top 50 when deciding whether to hand out these permits.

Ze Luis

Even if that were not an issue, work permit rules state Zé Luís would have had to play in at least 75% of Cape Verde's games over the last two years, which is also not the case.

Spurs could appeal the ruling to a committee in the hope of convincing them that Zé Luís is worthy of the permit, but it appears as though they have decided that they would be fighting a lost cause.

Jose Mourinho

As a result, they remain focused on signing a striker from elsewhere. Links to ​AC Milan forward Krzysztof Piątek refuse to go away, while the club have also been tipped to bring former striker Fernando Llorente back from ​Napoli Fernando Llorente or make a move for Paris Saint-Germain's ​Edinson Cavani.


With ​Kane potentially missing the rest of the season to recover from hamstring surgery, Spurs are determined to find at least one player who can help soften the blow, but it appears as though Zé Luís will not be that man.

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Source : 90min