Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is on a personal hunt to try and take Boca Juniors defensive midfielder Wilmar Barrios to north London this summer, according to a journalist.
The Sun reporter Alan Nixon claims on his personal Twitter account that the Argentinian boss is looking in his home country back in South America for potential talent and has identified the 24-year-old enforcer as a top target heading into the transfer window.
He has been a regular for Boca Juniors this season, appearing in the vast majority of his side’s games, and he also has 10 international caps for Columbia under his belt, as well as four appearances in the Olympic Games for his country.
Good move for Tottenham?
Anyone with international caps to their name must have some calibre and Barrios will be no different, although making that step up from Argentina to England is a huge gap that only a few have managed to make successfully.
If there is one Premier League manager who will know all about the top talents in Argentina right now, it is Pochettino, and he will no doubt have had his contacts on the case over figuring out whether he is a worthwhile purchase.
Spurs may be looking for some midfield reinforcements this summer, with the futures of the likes of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama under doubt, and Barrios may be the man to step into the gap if they do depart.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
This is the sort of move that depends on the outgoings from north London over the next couple of months.
He is not the sort of signing Pochettino needs right now but some exits from the centre will leave his squad looking light in that department, and then it will be time to reinforce.
One issue that will have to be considered is whether he will be able to get the paperwork sorted out to play in England, but his emergence in the international side, as well his provisional inclusion in his country’s World Cup squad, should give Spurs a strong argument over bringing him over.
One to watch out for, but nothing moving as of yet.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10 (8/10 if players sold)