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Since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur and Jose Mourinho was hired as their new manager, the Lillywhites have seen an upturn in their fortunes. Under the veteran Portuguese boss, Spurs have won 5 out of their 7 matches in all competitions, with the losses coming at the hands of Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
But everything is not sunshine and happiness for Jose Mourinho as he has a current problem to deal with. With the futures of Christian Eriksen, Victor Wanyama, and Giovanni Lo Celso hanging in the balance, he could be on the hunt for a midfielder in the upcoming transfer windows. Eriksen's contract is ending at the end of this season and it looks like he might leave on a free transfer.
As for Wanyama, he hasn't played for Spurs for quite some time now and it looks like he might be on the move in the winter transfer window. Lo Celso is someone who signed for Spurs in the summer on loan, but he was the signing of Mauricio Pochettino and not Jose Mourinho. The Argentine has found it hard to break into the starting XI on a weekly basis and he might be looking to jump ship in order to get more opportunities.
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Hence, here we are going to take a look at the three midfielders the Lillywhites can target in the upcoming transfer windows with one special mention.
Special mention: Luis Alberto
The Lazio midfield creator Luis Alberto would be a like-for-like replacement. The Spanish midfielder has traits almost identical to Christian Eriksen.
The Portuguese manager has always looked for already established footballers and Luis Alberto is of the same mold. He has been incredible for Lazio over the past couple of seasons, but has come into his own in the 2019/2020 season.
In the Serie A this season, Alberto has scored 3 goals and assisted a further 11 in the first half of the season. If the Spanish midfielder keeps going at this rate, he will most probably get over 20 assists at the end of this season, which is a great number.
Replacing Eriksen's creativity is always going to be a difficult task for Mourinho but Alberto is just the kind of man Spurs should target as not only will he be up to joining Spurs, but he might be available on a considerably low fee. The 27-year-old is in his prime and Spurs will be absolutely perfect for him. Now, let's take a look at the main contenders.
#3 Piotr Zielinski
The Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski is just the kind of man Spurs should be looking into to replace someone like Lo Celso. Zielinski is an all-action midfielder, who can also play both as a No. 8 and a No. 10.
This season, Zielinski has only scored 1 goal and assisted 1 in the Serie A, but that is because Napoli have been really poor. Zielinski has more goals and assists in him; to add to that, he works tirelessly off the ball, which is something Jose Mourinho loves.
The Poland international has won an incredible 67% of his tackles, along with 103 duels. The 25-year-old could also be available on the cheap as he isn't anywhere near to signing a new contract with Napoli. He could also be available in January.
#2 Houssem Aouar
Another young France talent making waves in the footballing world is 21-year-old Olympique Lyonnais pocket dynamo Houssem Aouar. The France international is a playmaker who is very hard to get off the ball and is also very elegant on the ball.
Much like Arsenal's Dani Ceballos, Aouar is an incredible dribbler, with an eye to pick out the most outrageous pass as well. The 21-year-old is also not afraid to have shot on goal and he definitely has a knack of scoring goals from midfield.
This season in Ligue 1, the midfield maestro has scored 2 goals and assisted a further 3, but the thing to look at is that he averages almost 70 touches per game - a high number for a playmaker. Aouar loves to come deep and operate as a No. 8 but he usually finds himself on the left-wing ready to drive inside, whenever he gets the ball.
With Lyon finding it hard in the French league this season, a January transfer is not an unlikely thing and he is someone Mourinho should definitely target to replace Giovanni Lo Celso if the Argentine decides to leave.
#1 Bruno Fernandes
A player who has been previously linked with Tottenham Hotspur is a certain Bruno Fernandes. The Sporting CP captain was very close to joining Spurs in the summer transfer window but the Lillywhites decided not to sign him as Christian Eriksen stayed at the club.
Fernandes is a player Jose Mourinho should definitely look at for replacing their outgoing Danish creator. The Portuguese international has been absolutely incredible for Sporting CP over the past two years.
He is the definition of a goalscoring midfielder as he has scored 11 goals this season, to go along with his 9 assists. Fernandes can both create and score with aplomb, and can contribute to the team defensively as well. In the Portuguese league this season, the 25-year-old has won an incredible 69% percent of his tackles, to go along with 174 duels.
Fernandes has recently signed a new contract with Sporting CP and he will most definitely not be available for a low transfer fee.
