Tottenham are hot on the heels of Bristol City left-back Lloyd Kelly in a move that could trigger a transfer domino effect next month, according to the Daily Record.
The newspaper claim on their transfer blog (Monday, 8.20am) that the north Londoners are battling Liverpool to land the 20-year-old in the January window.
The Record report Spurs would trigger a transfer “domino effect” by signing Kelly as it could free Toby Alderweireld to move to Manchester United, and allow Jose Mourinho to offload one of his struggling defenders.
Good move for Tottenham?
Kelly is certainly an exciting youngster with a big future ahead of him. He has been the regular left-back at Championship outfit City this season and has even slotted in at centre-back on a few occasions. But only Kelly’s nearest and dearest would claim he could be a potential replacement for Alderweireld, one of the outstanding centre-backs in the Premier League. Spurs need an established rather than rising star to take the place of the Belgian master, and they already have plenty of fine defenders on their books. Kelly would appear to be a potential replacement for Danny Rose rather than Alderweireld.
This is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
Given that Pochettino is said to be keen to move away from recruiting rising stars from the Football League, this is unlikely. The Argentine is keen for Spurs to sign proven performers rather than the best of the lower leagues despite the huge success of the likes of Dele Alli and Gareth Bale over the last decade, not to mention the likes of Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon in the past. On that basis, it would appear unlikely Spurs sign Kelly, certainly in January.
This is Futbol rating 3/10