When the time came for Tottenham Hotspur to make a decision about the future of Gedson Fernandes, well, it was never really a decision at all.
From January 2020 to January 2021, the Benfica loanee played a grand total of 61 minutes of Premier League football.
In fact, every single one of his five starts in Tottenham colours came in cup competitions. The last was during a 7-0 thrashing of non-league Marine FC as fans peered over garden walls and out of bedroom windows for a glimpse of Jose Mourinho.
“We never feel the right to keep a player who is not our player and is not playing as much as they would like,” the then-Spurs boss told Football London ten months into one of the most forgettable loan spells in recent top-flight history.
Just weeks later Gedson was gone, recalled by Benfica and farmed out, again, to Galatasaray.
A year-and-a-half on from that most mystifying of transfers, it’s amazing to think a permanent deal for the Portugal U21 international would have set Tottenham back a staggering £57 million.
That, by the way, would have seen Gedson replace Tanguy Ndombele as the most expensive signing in Tottenham history.
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What went wrong for Gedson Fernandes at Tottenham?
Benfica, these days, would be lucky to make a fraction of that eye-watering sum for a player who hasn’t featured for the Lisbon giants since late 2019.
Gedson looked rejuvenated during his brief stint in Turkey and Galatasaray would jump at the chance to bring the rangy midfielder back to Istanbul.
According to A Bola, the Super Lig giants hope to strike an initial loan deal complete with £9 million option-to-buy clause.
Gedson may go on to enjoy a fine career at Galatasaray in a league well suited to his tough tackling and hard running. But a £57 million footballer he most certainly is not.
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