Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

Jose Mourinho's first signing is still trying to prove he was not a Tottenham transfer mistake

Tottenham fans will have spotted a familiar face when England U21s returned to action on Sunday evening.

With plenty of supporters no doubt tuning in with Japhet Tanganga, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon all named in the Three Lions' starting XI, former loanee Gedson Fernandes started for opponents Portugal.

Needing to win after their opening game defeat against Switzerland last week, England again slumped to another loss as Gedson and Portugal ran out 2-0 winners.

However, the now Galatasaray midfielder only played 45 minutes of the contest as he was hooked at the break as Rui Jorge made a double substitution.

Tottenham Talk: Mourinho's Position, Young Stars And Transfers

It definitely worked as well as Trincao, who was one of the two to come on, netted a crucial second from the penalty spot with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Jose Mourinho's first signing at Tottenham in January 2020, the 18-month loan deal the club struck with Benfica just didn't work out at all as he failed to build on his 12 appearances towards the end of his first season at the club.

Hoping to see him really kick on in 2020/21 and become a key member of the squad, Gedson only appeared in two games for Spurs before his temporary move was cut short after only a year in north London.

Certainly not helped out by Mourinho's decision to leave him out of his Europa League squad due to the number of foreign players already at Tottenham, he would only be named on the bench in the Premier League three times and he failed to come on on each occasion.

So how exactly is he doing in Turkey now he is a Galatasaray player for the remainder of the campaign?

Well, the big positive for Gedson is that he is now featuring week in, week out for his new club.

Whereas he was struggling to even get in the Tottenham matchday squad in the first half of the campaign, he made an immediate impact for Gala with a goal on his debut in the 3-2 defeat against Alanyaspor in the Turkish Cup.

Gedson Fernandes was up against former Tottenham teammate Japhet Tanganga on Sunday evening as Portugal U21s took on England (The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

It proved to be scant consolation as his close-range finish came in stoppage time but it will have given him a big confidence boost after his woes at Tottenham.

Since then the midfielder has started in all seven of his Super Lig appearances so far, playing the full 90 minutes on one occasion.

Mainly used as a central midfielder by Fatih Terim, Gedson has played on the right in his last two appearances for his club but it appears that he is not exactly catching the eye of some.

Turkish publication FotoMac (via Sport Witness) state that the midfielder continues to appear in the first team despite 'criticism of his ineffective football' since his move to the club.

They believe the reason for this is because there is a clause in their agreement with Benfica that they must pay compensation to the Portuguese club if he is left out of the XI when he's fully fit.

Regardless of whether or not there is indeed a clause in the deal, the one thing Gedson needs to hit the heights predicted of him previously is to be playing regular football on a consistent basis.

He's now getting that at Galatasaray but the big question is whether or not he can do the same when he returns to Benfica in time for the 2021/22 season.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.