Jose Mourinho predicted a delayed opening of the transfer window for Premier League clubs and expects there to be a cautious approach to transfer fees out of respect for the global crisis.

Tottenham are eighth in the Premier League table amid a turbulent 2019-20 season and, should play resume in order to finish the campaign following a break enforced by the coronavirus pandemic, supporters will expect improvements.

Mourinho said his players are keen to return to action but moved to cool any expectations of a bumper transfer window at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"The first question after that is when will the transfer window be?" Mourinho told Sky Sports. "I don't think it will be in July or August anymore, it has to go further than that.

"It is normal you are going to have a different market, I don't see the world – especially the football world – ready for some crazy numbers we used to have.

"I would like my club to be what I know what we will be: sensible, balanced and not going to spend rivers of money. We are trying to respect the situation, not just the football but the situation in the world and society overall."

Tottenham have returned to training following a two-and-a-half-month break and Mourinho said that the club's focus is on the health of his players rather than plans for the transfer window.

"To be honest in this moment it is the last thing we are thinking," he said.

"In the club we are not thinking about it. No talks about it, because in this moment we think about safety, following every rule inside of the training ground, we are trying to be perfect, not just in the testing but in everything in the club, we are trying to be perfect.

"Since the moment Bundesliga started, the Portuguese league and Spanish league announced a date to start, I think it is the most difficult moment for us, because we want to play.

"It is hard to see other countries playing football and we don't do it."