Mauricio Pochettino has identified Porto star Ricardo Pereira as his first choice to replace Kyle Walker at Tottenham, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper claim the Spurs manager wants the Portugese right-back, 23, due to his calibre and versatility.
The Telegraph report that Pereira would also fit inside Tottenham’s famously strict salary structure even though Porto have slapped a hefty £20million price tag on him.
It is said that Manchester City are confident they will wrap up the signing of Walker for £40million when he returns from international duty later this week.
Pereira has spent the last two seasons on loan at Nice from Porto and has made a big impression at the Ligue 1 club, where he has been a mainstay of the team.
The versatile full-back, who can also slot in on the left side of defence, has also attracted interest from European big hitters Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Walker, who moved to White Hart Lane from boyhood club Sheffield United in 2009, lost his regular Spurs starting place at the end of 2016-17 as speculation intensified about his future and his form dipped.
Nevertheless, the England international was named by his peers in the PFA Premier League team of the season and is widely regarded as one of Europe’s outstanding right-backs.
He was also in the England team that drew 2-2 in their World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Saturday evening, ahead of his White Hart Lane teammate Kieran Trippier.
City have already signed Monaco winger Bernardo Silva for £43million this summer and they are reportedly close to signing Benfica’s Ederson for a world-record £35million for a goalkeeper.
