Why Tottenham have missed a trick by not signing Willian Jose in January

In January, The Guardian had claimed that Tottenham were in talks with Real Sociedad over the signing of striker Willian Jose, as manager Jose Mourinho was desperate to sign a striker to replace the injured Harry Kane.

Willian Jose, 28, has been with Real Sociedad since 2016. He signed a new contract in 2018, which has a €70m release clause. While Tottenham were hoping to negotiate a lower fee for the centre-forward (h/t The Guardian), a move didn’t materialise during the January transfer window.

Tottenham have improved under the management of Jose Mourinho, with the North London side climbing up the table following some important victories. They signed Gedson Fernandes on an 18-month loan deal from Benfica and Steven Bergwijn from PSV Eindhoven in January. The duo has made a positive impact at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, Mourinho has lost two big players in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min for lengthy periods on the sidelines. Kane sustained a hamstring injury against Southampton in January and underwent a successful operation which will keep him out until April. Son, meanwhile, fractured his arm during Spurs’ dramatic 3-2 victory over Aston Villa and Mourinho expects the forward to miss rest of the season. (h/t BBC)

Kane and Son have been Tottenham’s chief goalscorers this season, with the duo contributing to a combined 32 goals across all competitions. In Kane’s absence, Mourinho has used Lucas Moura in the No.9 role and now with Son ruled out for the season, the Brazilian is expected to be the club’s main man in attack.

Spurs should’ve signed a striker last month to replace the injured Kane after the acquisitions of Gedson and Bergwijn. To put things plainly, they should have signed Willian Jose from Real Sociedad.

Willian has been a prolific goalscorer since arriving at Sociedad. In his debut season with Sociedad, the Brazilian forward netted 14 goals in 34 games. In the 2017/18 La Liga campaign, he bagged 20 goals in 40 appearances. While his productivity decreased last season, the Brazilian still netted 11 goals in 34 appearances. He has bagged 8 goals in 22 league games, which has helped Sociedad to 8th place in La Liga, three points off the top-four.

Read more

• Why Tottenham must make a move for Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst
• Why Tottenham should make a move for Dean Henderson in the summer
• Why Chris Smalling would be a good addition to Tottenham

Verdict

Having scored consistently in La Liga over the last few seasons, Willian certainly could have helped Spurs in the attack. The Brazilian has solid experience at the highest level and such know-how could have benefited Mourinho’s Spurs in their hunt for a top-four finish.

Thus, Tottenham have missed a big trick by failing to sign Willian in January.