Tottenham Hotspur are at risk of waving goodbye to one of their key players in the January transfer window, to former manager Jose Mourinho, no less.
Jose Mourinho has done little to keep himself out of the headlines since his appointment as Fenerbahce manager last summer, railing against refereeing and earning a red card and league sanctions inside the first six months.
Now, with transfer rumours swirling around him, Mourinho is reportedly planning to make an ambitious attempt to sign a senior player from Tottenham Hotspur, who he managed between 2019 and 2021.
Tottenham Hotspur: Jose Mourinho wants to make waves in the transfer window
According to a report from Gazzetta, Tottenham captain Son Heung-min is on Mourinho’s list of targets as he seeks to bridge the gap between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
The 32-year-old has struggled for form despite recent goals but Ange Postecoglou and Spurs won’t be willing to let him go without a fight. After making his name in Germany, Son came of age at Tottenham and has become an important player in North London. He has captained the team since the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
Son joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 and has played more than 300 Premier League games. He’s scored 125 league goals, tied with Nicolas Anelka as the 18th highest top flight scorer of the Premier League era. Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy are the only active Premier League players who’ve scored more.
His overall goal contributions in 2024-25 are tracking among his best seasons in England but Postecoglou’s aggressive attacking football is a more compelling reason for that than Son’s performances, which have come under fire as a result of Tottenham’s current winless run.
Fenerbahce, who are also reported to be interested in Roma’s Nicola Zalewski and Joao Felix of Chelsea as well as a host of other targets including Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof, are trailing in the title race despite the efforts of a number of familiar attacking names.
Captain Dusan Tadic and Sebastian Szymanski started their last game against Eyupspor. Edin Dzeko and on-loan winger Allan Saint-Maximin came off the bench, while Cenk Tosun was an unused substitute.
Mourinho, who is ranked at number 12 in FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest managers ever, is looking to add the Super Lig title to a bulging honours list that also includes a total of eight league championships in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
He won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan either side of his first spell in charge of Chelsea but is likely to require a play-off to take Fenerbahce into the knockout phase of the Europa League this season.
Fenerbahce take on Hatayspor on Sunday. The crucial meeting with Galatasaray will take place at the end of February.
