Jose Mourinho learned a lot about Gedson Fernandes in his Tottenham debut

Gedson Fernandes didn’t play a lot of minutes in his Tottenham debut, but he showed flashes of real quality to Jose Mourinho.

Tottenham came within inches of winning at Watford on Saturday, but the loss wasn’t a total frustration for Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff. Gedson Fernandes’ late cameo for Spurs gave a real glimpse of what the young midfielder is capable of moving forward.

In fairness, it’s dangerous to make long-term judgments about a player after roughly 15 minutes of action. Fernandes certainly will need time to bed in properly to his new side. With that being said, his performance at Watford gave Tottenham’s coaching staff a solid idea of what role he can play for Spurs in the coming weeks.

Any Tottenham fan expecting Fernandes to fill the void soon to be left by Christian Eriksen‘s departure will be sorely disappointed. He’s not a stylish No. 10 by any stretch of the imagination. That task will still need to fall to Giovani Lo Celso once Eriksen’s departure is finally confirmed.

Instead, look for Fernandes to gradually push Moussa Sissoko out the exit door at Spurs. The Frenchman is missing due to injury at the moment, but it’s hard not to see Fernandes taking over his minutes as time goes along. The former Benfica midfielder showed that he is a strong dribbler who can carry the ball into the attacking third in his brief time against the Hornets.

He also projects to have more ability to trouble opponents in the final third when compared to Sissoko. That quality is going to earn him plenty of chances to play under Mourinho. Fernandes won’t score loads of goals in his career, but he does have the talent to be a proficient player in front of goal. That’s more than Sissoko can produce at this stage in his career.

The real question for Fernandes is whether or not he can match Sissoko’s quality in defence. He showed real signs of doing so against Watford. He effectively tracked back several tricky runs by the Hornets’ cadre of attacking players. That is another skill that will endear him to Mourinho and his coaching staff.

It’s far too soon to have a full understanding of what Tottenham’s newest player will provide the club, but his first appearance for Spurs was definitely a success. Don’t be surprised if he makes his way into Mourinho’s starting XI sooner than most people expect.