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The following article is a special report; all information presented has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources unless otherwise stated.
Tottenham Hotspur are facing up to the prospect of only signing one more senior player ahead of the transfer deadline, sources have confirmed to Football FanCast.
The club are attempting to sign Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham prior to Thursday’s deadline and there is a confidence at the club that the deal will be concluded before the window closes.
However, it must be contextualised; Spurs have had confidence in sealing the deal throughout the summer and, as yet, the transfer has not been completed.
Nevertheless, the club hope to bring the 19-year-old in, with Mauricio Pochettino keen to secure the teenager, who is seen as a long-term replacement for Danny Rose.
Spurs are also in talks with Bruno Fernandes, the Sporting Lisbon midfielder, but the deal is a complicated one.
The club sent a delegation to Portugal to negotiate the deal but the two clubs are apart in their valuations.
A report in the country has claimed that Sporting want €70m (£64.3m), with the latest offer standing at an initial €50m (£45.9m) with €10m (£9.1m) in add-ons.
Sources close to Spurs’ negotiations have told FFC that “a few more million would do it” but it remains to be seen if a deal can be brokered in time to beat the deadline.
Fernandes, much like Giovani Lo Celso at Real Betis - another summer transfer target - has already expressed his willingness to move to Spurs.
But negotiations with the Liga NOS club continue to drag and, with just two days of the transfer window left, sources have said that they will need to reach a conclusion quickly.
Indeed, Fernandes remains in Portugal and would have to be flown to England for his medical while the finer details of the deal were sorted out.
As it is, though, there has yet to be a breakthrough in talks.
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Spurs are hopeful, though Manchester United’s interest in Christian Eriksen complicates matters.
Indeed, The London Evening Standard have reported that United are exploring the possibility of signing the Denmark international and Spurs will need to sign a replacement if he departs.
Both Fernandes and Lo Celso had been identified as potential alternatives to Eriksen at the start of the transfer window but, of course, deals have not been completed quickly and Spurs are now in a situation where they will have to hurry their business.
While the club remain confident of bringing Sessegnon into the club, the nuclear scenario is that Spurs fail to complete both deals and are left with just one senior signing in their squad: Tanguy Ndombele. Jack Clarke, of course, was loaned back to Leeds United after his signing.
Manager Pochettino called for a rebuilding job at the end of last season but there has been little movement to that end.
Kieran Trippier has left for Atletico Madrid while Vincent Janssen has been sold to Monterrey but no other unwanted players have left.
Whether Sessegnon arrives or not, the manager is likely to head into Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa with largely the same squad that competed in the 2018/19 season.
It remains to be seen if it will be enough.