Tottenham will need ‘open their purse strings’ to sign Benfica defender Morato as the Portuguese side have no intention of letting him go.
That’s according to O Jogo, who provide their own slant on the transfer today as Tottenham continue to be linked with his signature.
The newspaper backs up reports from England that Spurs have ‘intensified their observations’ of the central defender after it was claimed they had watched him on several occasions throughout November.
They say that Tottenham see him as a ‘priority’ to reinforce their defence, something that has increased after the injury to Micky van de Ven.
O Jogo report that the ‘interest and observations’ on Tottenham’s part are real but contrary to reports in England regarding a possible exit, Benfica won’t give up the player ‘in a simple way’.
If Spurs want the defender, they will need to ‘open their purse strings’ and that is because Morato is currently protected by a €100m release clause.
Benfica have already shown their lack of desire to let him go by turning down a €30m offer from Nottingham Forest in the summer, after already rejecting a €25m offer from Fulham before that.
Thus, it seems Tottenham would need to vastly improve on those bids to convince the Portuguese side into a sale, if they’re as keen as the press in England and Portugal seem to think they are.
