Mourinho not copying Barcelona plan for emergency striker

Jose Mourinho does not anticipate following Barcelona's lead and trying to sign an emergency striker for Tottenham as he joked former Spurs forward Peter Crouch would be his first port of call.

Crouch the Spurs lifeline, jokes Mou

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Son Heung-min had joined fellow Tottenham attacker Harry Kane on the sidelines after he fractured his arm in Sunday's 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

Mourinho revealed he does not expect Son to play again this season, while Kane also faces a battle to return from a torn hamstring injury sustained in January.

LaLiga giants Barcelona are thought to be pursuing signing an emergency striker outside the transfer window due to Ousmane Dembele's long-term injury, though Mourinho does not think Spurs could attempt to do likewise as he quipped Crouch could fill the void.

"I didn't [explore that possibility]," Mourinho said of signing an emergency striker.

"I was not aware of that possibility. I don't think it's possible, honestly, I don't think it's possible.

"[Maybe] Peter Crouch!"

Crouch spent two seasons with Spurs between 2009 and 2011 and he scored seven times in 10 games during their 2010-11 Champions League campaign.

No Son, no Kane

Without Son and Kane, Mourinho may have to resort to playing one of Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn or Dele Alli in an unfamiliar central-attacking berth.

Tottenham do have one striker in their senior squad in 18-year-old Troy Parrott.

Yet, with a Champions League last-16 clash against RB Leipzig preceding a Premier League showdown against fellow top-four hopefuls Chelsea this week, Mourinho is not prepared to roll the dice on a teenager who has played only 71 minutes across all competitions this term.

"My thoughts are that Parrott is not ready and [Ryan] Sessegnon is not a striker," Mourinho added in a news conference with reporters ahead of the home leg against Leipzig.