Tottenham sign Gedson Fernandes on 18-month loan deal

Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of the versatile midfielder and attacker Gedson Fernandes from Benfica. Fernandes will join Spurs on an initial 18-month loan deal from Liga NOS side but the North London club do have an option to make the signing permanent. Yet despite that, Fernandes was overjoyed with the move and went on to admit that it was a dream come true for him in his first official interview. He also added that he'll give his best and hopes to impress the club enough to make the move permanent.

"I'm very happy to be here today -- I make my dream a reality. For me, it's one big dream to come to this big club. I will try to give my best for the club every day, in every training session and in every game and I will try to help the team wherever I can, working hard every day for this shirt. I have no words to say about the stadium. I've never seen anything like this -- it's unbelievable," Fernandes told Tottenham's official website.

Gedson Fernandes sprung onto the scene after impressive outings with Benfica last season but the midfielder only featured 13 times this term for the Portuguese giants after a fall out with coach Bruno Lage. That combined with the arrival of Julian Weigl meant that the Aguias were open to selling Fernandes in the winter transfer window and had met as many as four English clubs to discuss a move. In the end, Tottenham beat the likes of Arsenal and West Ham United to sign the Portuguese, who’ll provide much-needed reinforcements to Jose Mourinho’s squad.

The 21-year-old should be a welcome addition that gives Mourinho a lot of flexibility. The ex-Chelsea coach now has an extra attacker in his side as they try and cope without Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko for upcoming months. The Spurs talisman suffered an ankle injury in a match against Southampton and that will put him out of action at least till mid-April, while Sissoko suffered an injury to his knee and will be out for the same amount of time.