Every January transfer window brings anxiety with it for Tottenham fans – typically, there’s a ton of chatter and buzz regarding potential incoming transfers. Moves that are discussed by talking heads on Twitter or dreaded, self-proclaimed, ITKs hardly ever materialize; this makes sense, considering Daniel Levy’s reputation as a shrewd businessman. Hard to be shrewd in the middle of a season, in which a team’s needs are widely obvious, driving up the price for any player they might be in market for.

With Jose Mourinho replacing Mauricio Pochettino as head coach in November, Tottenham’s results and performances have improved mildly at best. Even Pochettino admitted that the squad needed a refresh (going back to 2018), and the issues that the lack of a refresh produced have outlasted the Argentine manager.

As such, whether it plays up to Levy’s strengths or not, the January transfer window represents an opportunity for Mourinho to implement his vision of what Tottenham should become.

A couple of players have seemingly been contacted by the club – Krzysztof Piatek for some much needed depth in our forward line, and Norwich’s Max Aarons to replace Serge Aurier as the starting RB.

The player that seems closest to signing, however, is SL Benfica’s Gedson Fernandes. The 21 year old has been touted as a big talent to come out of the Benfica academy, and linked with the likes of Wolverhampton in the past.

There’s no doubt that Tottenham is in dire need of reinforcements in the midfield. Eric Dier has been a shadow of his former self, Harry Winks doesn’t seem to be trusted without being partnered with a proper defensive midfielder, Tanguy N’dombele is picking up small injuries keeping him away from match fitness. Giovanni Lo Celso has looked bright but Mourinho has been very careful managing his match involvement.

Although Tottenham’s struggled to build attacks from midfield, more generally Spurs have struggled to control a game and dictate tempo. Part of the reason for that is that the team lacks a genuine ball winning mid. A more defensive minded midfielder would be able to turn the team’s fortune’s around, provided they hit the ground running.

The question is – is Gedson Fernandes that sort of player? It doesn’t really look like it.

From watching a bit of Benfica here and there, and Gedson’s stats, he’s more of a box to box midfielder. He makes surging runs on the ball, has an eye for a creative pass, but doesn’t bring a ton of steel to the midfield.

He’s averaged around one tackle a game in Liga NOS, and 0.6 interceptions this season. One would think these numbers are a bit skewed as he hasn’t been too involved in the first team this year (due to to the sacking of Rui Vitoria in early 2019 and the subsequent system shake up), but looking at the 2018/19 season his defensive numbers isn’t much better – an average of 1.3 tackles and .4 interceptions per game.

No doubt he is being brought in for his seemingly high ceiling and ability to progress the ball from the midfield. Spurs already have a player in that mold, however, in both Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy N’dombele. Granted the former’s lack of technical ability can hurt Spurs up the pitch, and as mentioned N’dombele has been picking up injuries.

There’s no reason to pick up a player that has the same play style of two players that Spurs already have – one who is genuinely never injured, and the other who (unless his injuries are worse than the club are letting on) is an automatic starter as soon as he’s fit. One could even argue that Harry Winks is a similar player as well, although he doesn’t like to dribble as much.

The type of player that Spurs need now is one in the Victor Wanyama/Sandro mold – an energetic player who is eager to regain possession of the ball, gets stuck in, and shift from left to right quickly to position himself better for the opposition’s next attack. Tottenham should be looking at Florentino Luis.

This season alone he has been a rock for Benfica, averaging 2.9 tackles and an incredible 4.1 interceptions a game.

To get a better understanding of his defensive ability, check out the video below.

Even though the above is a highlight video, 1) his numbers this season and last season back up his performances and 2) it’s easy to tell he is extremely agile and athletic, something Spurs lack at the moment.

Compare this to Dier’s numbers this season – it’s easy to tell that they are different types of defensive midfielders. Florentino looks to regain possession in the middle of the pitch whereas Dier drops deeper, and slots into Tottenham’s defensive line (hence the high number of clearances and higher number of blocks).

Mourinho likes his teams to play deep, but he also likes his players to regain possession quickly and make the best of transitional play.

Dier has good passing range but drops way too deep. With him struggling to pick up form as well, this means Tottenham consistently struggle to regain possession of the ball. A player like Florentino would be Tottenham’s own form of Kante/Ndidi – a genuine ballwinner whose main responsibility is to defend and break up opposition play. A midfield of Florentino/N’dombele is the stuff of dreams.

Gedson Fernandes might help with defense, but I don’t see him offering much more quality in that regard than Dier. I wonder if Spurs have been looking at a player they want but not the one they currently need.