Hopes of Nigerian striker Mukairu joining Spurs fade as Jose Mourinho gets sacked

NIGERIAN striker Paul Mukairu's plan to join English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspurs this summer may now be in jeopardy after the club sacked its manager Jose Mourinho who has long been an admirer of the 21 year old.

With Harry Kane expected to leave Spurs at the end of the season, Mourinho had eyed Mukairu, currently playing for Anderlecht on loan from Turkish side Antalyaspor, as a possible replacement. Mukairu has impressed since arriving at Lotto Park, establishing himself as a regular in Vincent Kompany’s starting 11.

Tottenham were favourites to snap up the striker in the summer for around £4m, although the likes of AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Ajax and Roma and PSV Eindhoven were also said to be interested. However, with Spurs sacking Mourinho this morning after a string of poor results, the move could now be off.

Mourinho has been in charge at Spurs since November 2019, replacing Mauricio Pochettino, signing a deal until the end of the 2023 season. However, with the club currently lying in seventh place in the table, five points off the Uefa Champions League places and having little hope of qualifying for the elite tournament, the club and manager have decided to part ways.

Spurs have had a mixed season so far but their most humiliating defeat so far was the 3-0 thrashing they received at the hands of Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League last month. Spurs won the first leg 2-0 but were crushed in the second match, thus crashing out of the tournament in the Round of 16.

It now appears that Mourinho's last game the 2-2 draw with Everton on Friday night was the last straw. Spurs are set to take on Southampton in a league game on Wednesday evening and then they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.