Tottenham Hotspur put the transfer window to one side on Saturday afternoon as they faced off against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
Indeed, while January is usually all about transfers, new signings have to take a backseat at the weekend as the team gets down to business on the pitch.
However, unfortunately for Spurs, the transfer wheels don’t stop turning for every single club while they’re in the middle of action, and during their FA Cup match against Portsmouth, it was reported that Tottenham will be missing out on one of their targets.
Indeed, Fabrizio Romano has seemingly confirmed that Ruslan Malinovskyi will be joining Marseille this month, posting his patented ‘here we go’ tweet about the playmaker.
Spurs may have gotten through against Pompey in the FA Cup, but sadly, Saturday afternoon has also brought some bad news for the north Londoners as Romano tweeted this halfway through their match against the south-coast side.
Malinovskyi is a player that Spurs have looked at for months. The club had reportedly prepared a bid for him a few days ago, but now, Marseille have seemingly beat them to the punch.
It’s a real shame because Spurs could have done with a new attacking option like Malinovskyi through the door this month, but sadly, it’s not to be.
Of course, no deal is done until it is signed, but usually when Romano puts out a tweet like this, it’s as good as announced.
Fabio Paratici may now have to go back to the drawing board in his hunt for attacking reinforcements this month as Malinovskyi now looks to be off the market.
Where Spurs turn to next remains to be seen, but this transfer is another reminder that you have to act quickly in the market if you want to secure your targets.

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