Tottenham’s talks with Fenerbahçe over the potential signing Vedat Muriqi have been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Muriqi is a Kosovan international and has been a prolific scorer at the club since joining in the summer, with Spurs keen to try him out as a potential new backup to leading forward Harry Kane.
Muriqi scored a penalty when England played Kosovo in a European Championships qualifier in September, whilst Kane actually missed one – although the Three Lions did win the game 5-3 and qualify automatically for the finals at Kosovo’s expense.
Spurs have struggled to find a suitable reserve for Kane, with neither Vincent Janssen nor Fernando Llorente stepping up when called upon from the bench.
Turkish newspaper Sözcü, via Sport Witness, report that Tottenham have had to call off the meetings for the foreseeable future, citing the outbreak of COVID-19 as the primary reason.
The talks were scheduled to take place following Kosovo’s Euro 2020 qualifying playoff tie with North Macedonia during the upcoming March international break, but those games have now been postponed until June, and the international break cancelled altogether.
Sözcü’s report states that the Turkish club, all the way down in seventh as things stand, are still hoping to hold the talks, and would still demand a 'decent' fee for Muriqi in order to finance the purchases they intend to make this summer.
Of course, the dates of the summer transfer window may also be called into question if the coronavirus outbreak is still not under control across Europe by June or July.
Spurs have spent all of 2020 without Kane, and, with Son Heung-min also out, have been unable to call on any senior strikers, as Kane and Son are the only registered centre-forwards in José Mourinho’s first-team squad.
Source :
90min
