Revealed: Jose Mourinho unhappy with Fenerbahce board over slow transfer activity with Champions League qualifiers looming

Mourinho is concerned that Fenerbahce have yet to bring in his priority targets ahead of the Champions League third-round qualifiers, which are set to kick off on August 5 and 6. The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss wants a permanent deal for Milan Skriniar pushed through and he is also eager to sign two wide players, but Fenerbahce are currently prioritising the signing of Inter's Hakan Calhanoglu.

Fenerbahce's president Ali Koc initially did not obtain Mourinho's approval before enquiring about Hakan Calhanoglu's availability, GOAL understands. The Inter midfielder is interested in the move, and will ask his current employers to reduce their asking price to €10m to make the transfer happen.

Skriniar earned Mourinho's trust after spending the second half of last season on loan with the Turkish giants. GOAL has learned that Mourinho is unhappy that the pursuit of Calhanoglu is slowing down more "urgent" transfer dealings like the one for Skriniar, with Fenerbahce now running out of time to prepare for their Champions League qualifying commitments.

Koc is managing the team's efforts in the transfer window, and so far has brought Tarikj Cetin, Archie Brown and Jhon Duran to the club. However, Fenerbahce have been outshone by their title-winning rivals Galatasaray. Victor Osimhen will join the club in the next few days, Manchester City keeper Ederson has agreed terms and Leroy Sane joined from Bayern Munich earlier in the summer.

Fenerbahce are currently in Portugal for a pre-season training camp. Mourinho had hoped to have Skriniar and his new wide men in the squad to prepare for the new season, but is still waiting on his priority targets to arrive. Fenerbahce will learn their opponents in the third round of Champions League qualifying when the draw is made on July 21, and they are set to start their 2025-26 Turkish Super Lig campaign against Alanyaspor on August 9.