Report: Tottenham in advanced talks to sign £40m man, coach wants him sold

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Tottenham Hotspur are in advanced talks to sign Carlos Vinicius in a £40 million loan-to-buy deal after Benfica coach Jorge Jesus decided the striker isn’t a part of his plans, according to A Bola.

The transfer window may not be in it’s eleventh hour just yet but Spurs have certainly left it late to sign the number nine Jose Mourinho has been demanding since the market opened all those months ago.

After being linked with a host of strikers from across Europe, late-blooming Brazilian Vinicius is expected to be a Tottenham player before the window shuts on Monday.

Reports from Portugal claim a deal is “very close” – and could even be completed today.

Vinicius will join on an initial loan deal, although Tottenham should have the option to sign him permanently for £40 million if the South American thrives where the likes of Vincent Janssen failed.

Vinicius scored a career-best 24 goals in all competitions for Benfica last season, sharing the Golden Boot with 18 strikes in the Primeira Liga.

But, according to A Bola, Eagles boss Jorge Jesus has decided the physical frontman doesn’t fit into his fluid attacking style. Benfica paid a club-record fee to sign Almeria’s Darwin Nunez as his replacement.

“We usually play in most games with two strikers. Now, we have four (in the squad), with the boy Gonçalo Ramos we have five,” Jesus, who returned for a second spell at Benfica after winning a historic treble at Flamengo, told Record.

“If we let Ruben Dias go (to Manchester City), why not let Vinicius go?

“As a coach, I have to look at the interests of the team and the club.”

Standing at 6ft 3in, Vinicius is the kind of classic targetman who tends to thrive under Mourinho.