Tottenham have lined up Olympique Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele as their top transfer target this summer as they look for extra options in the middle of the park, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Lilywhites want the French international, who has four caps to his name, to take the place of Christian Eriksen if and when the Dane leaves north London, although the Lyon man is not seen as a direct replacement but someone who can help Mauricio Pochettino adjust his tactics.
It is stated that Ndombele is rated at £80million by the Ligue 1 outfit and that is the price they will expect to receive, with Giovani lo Celso and Nicolo Zaniolo named as potential alternatives for Spurs.
Good move for Tottenham?
For a club that has not spent anything in the transfer window for the last 18 months, £80million is an awful lot to splash out on one individual player.
Yes, he might be very talented and have a very bright future ahead of him at 22-years-old, but is he really worth that sort of money?
He is not going to fill the void left by Eriksen, with Ndombele’s skill set more matching that of Victor Wanyama or Moussa Sissoko – a powerful presence in the middle of the park who can break up attacks and launch moves for his own side.
However, his seven assists show there is a creative vision in there and while he might not be taking Eriksen’s place, he could prove to be a very worthwhile signing – if there was a more reasonable price tag on his head.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
It seems as though Spurs are not willing to put all their eggs into one basket and this could be a transfer hunt which stretches out across summer as they wait for the right man to become available at the right price.
Ndombele is their top target and you can understand why but as is the case with Daniel Levy, he is not afraid to leave negotiations if the deal is not working for Spurs.
Until Eriksen is gone and funds are made available, this one is going to remain up in the air.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10