Tottenham & Benfica Set to End Gedson Fernandes' Loan Spell in January
By Ali Rampling
Gedson Fernandes is poised to have his loan spell at Tottenham cut short and return to Benfica in January following a lack of first team opportunities in north London.
Spurs fought off competition from London rivals West Ham to secure the services of Fernandes in January 2020, with the Portuguese midfielder joining on an initial 18 month loan deal with a €50m option to buy should he impress at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, this has been far from the case, with the 21-year-old featuring just once for Spurs this season during their Carabao Cup penalty shootout victory over Chelsea in September.
He has not played in the Premier League this term and was not named in Jose Mourinho's Europa League squad, and according to Portuguese news outlet Jornal de Notícias [via Sport Witness], Fernandes' parent club Benfica have made the decision to cut his loan spell short by six months.
The report states that Fernandes' move back to the club is 'politically done', adding that he will slot back into the Benfica squad upon his return unless another opportunity emerges in the January transfer window.
Spurs manager Mourinho was questioned about Fernandes' future on Friday, and he explained that the midfielder's next move was in the hands of Benfica.
"If he remains at the club from January, I cannot answer you. I truly believe that we have to respect the player and Benfica," Mourinho said [via Sky Sports].
"The player because he deserves all our respect and Benfica because as a friendly club deserves our respect. What they decide is fundamental and what they decide will prevail.
"These six months become really, really bad for us and for him. On top of it he's a kid, it's incredible what I'm going to say, but since he arrived he didn't miss one single minute of one training session so even in low levels of happiness and motivation he is managing to be a very good professional.
"Hopefully better days will come for him and they will come for sure, with us or without us, but better days will come for sure."