Jose Mourinho issues update on Tottenham's striker search ahead of 11pm deadline

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Tottenham are unlikely to sign a striker before Friday's transfer deadline.

Premier League clubs have until 11pm to register new players for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.

Spurs have been linked with moves for Olivier Giroud, Krzysztof Piatek and Willian Jose as they seek a replacement for the injured Harry Kane.

But Mourinho does not expect Spurs to complete any more signings following the purchases of Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso, whose loan move has been made permanent.

"Again, I cannot hide," he said. "If I say it's easy to play three competitions without a striker, I'm going to lie. I cannot lie. You know that's important for us. If it’s not possible, its not possible.

"For me the great thing is that we’re all together on this in the club. There’s nobody to blame and say you could didn’t do your job well or you could do better than you did. Not at all.

“Again we don’t want a striker to just help us now, to be useful for us. We want a striker to be good for our future, possible to play with Harry Kane together in the future. And with the difficulties of the market, it was very, very difficult to find [one].

"To find a winger that fits in our way of playing – young, creative, enthusiastic with a lot of develop, that can also create a connection with the fans because we know what the Tottenham fans wants – we found with Stevie this profile of player. It’s not the perfect situation but it’s where we are."

Spurs were reportedly attempting to bring Gareth Bale back to the club, but Zinedine Zidane says the forward will not be leaving Real Madrid.

And Mourinho refused to be drawn on Tottenham's supposed interest in signing the Wales international, and wanted to discuss Sunday's clash with Manchester City instead.

"“I thought you were going to ask about [Sergio] Aguero or Gabriel Jesus but you ask about Bale," he added. 

"If you want to talk about Man City, I’m here. if you want to talk about the market, I’ve nothing more to say. I honestly feel we’re not going to sign another player until the end of the market but while the market is open, it’s open.”

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).