Mourinho wanted me to join Tottenham, confirms Willian Jose

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:44 CDT
• 2 min read

New Wolves striker Willian Jose has revealed that Jose Mourinho wanted him to leave Real Sociedad for Tottenham in January of 2020.

At the turn of the year last season, star striker Harry Kane suffered a hamstring injury for Spurs in a game against Southampton, which subsequently led to a spell on the sidelines.

Mourinho then mulled over the idea of bringing in someone else to ease the striking burden on Kane, who at that point was the only recognised centre-forward at the club after understudy Fernando Llorente was allowed to join Napoli in the summer with no replacement coming in.

Willian Jose, apparently, was targeted.

“A lot of things happened,” he told Sky Sports.

“I had an offer from them but Real Sociedad didn’t want to let me go.

“I saw the opportunity to play in the Premier League for a big team with a lot of big players. I had spoken with Mourinho and he had told me he wanted me there.

The Brazilian suggested he would have been open to the move to Tottenham but it ultimately failed to materialise which led to him staying at Real Sociedad.

“I felt there was a possibility I was leaving so I asked Real Sociedad to be left out of a game against Espanyol. But in the end it didn’t happen and I stayed there for another year,” he added.

Willian Jose would eventually move to the Premier League, however, as he recently joined Wolves on loan with the option to buy this summer.

The transfer came about due to a similar situation to Spurs a year ago, as Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo wanted to bring in a replacement for injured forward Raul Jimenez, who suffered a nasty fractured skull earlier in the season, leading to his squad lacking in the forward department.

He has made three appearances for Wolves so far, but is yet to find the back of the net.

Mourinho, meanwhile, is under pressure as Tottenham manager after a wretched run of form in January.