Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton look set to go head-to-head for Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena this summer, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim on their website that the trio of Premier League sides are eyeing up a move for the 19-year-old central midfielder, with a release clause of just £2.6million (€3million) in his contract.
They say that Mauricio Pochettino’s side are in pole position to secure the youngster’s signature, but must move quickly, as the release clause will increase to £10.5million come July.
Captain of the Spanish U19 side, with eight caps to his name, Alena is set to be out of contract in the summer of 2018, and is currently refusing to sign an extension with the Catalan giants.
He has made three substitute appearances for Barcelona so far, his debut coming in a 4-1 win over Granada at the beginning of April 2017.
His arrival at Tottenham would prove to be Pochettino’s first signing of this summer’s transfer market, although he would face fierce competition for a role in the starting XI, with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Moussa Sissoko and Mousa Dembele all operating in a similar role.
He could face the same trouble if he joined up with former Barcelona star Ronald Koeman at Everton, with the Toffees’ boss having the established Ross Barkley, Tom Davies, Idrissa Gueye and new signing Davy Klassen at his disposal.
He may have more playing time working with fellow countryman Rafael Benitez, who is said to have been following Alena for several months, at Newcastle, with Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame the only other attack minded midfielders currently at the club.