Tottenham have "positioned" themselves to sign a bargain alternative to heavily-linked Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, and it is believed they're prepared to offer him far more than his current salary.
Spurs keen on new midfielder this summer
Reports over the last fortnight have suggested that Spurs are still very eager to bring in a new midfield running man for Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs prepared to pay £51m for ace who Villas-Boas likened to van der Vaart
The Lilywhites face competition from PSG.
ByEmilio Galantini
Chelsea star Conor Gallagher, much like over the course of January, is a name regularly mentioned as a Spurs target, while the likes of Atalanta's Teun Koopmeiners, Everton midfielder James Garner and de Jong have emerged as other names who Johan Lange and co have their eyes on.
There are even suggestions that Tottenham are prepared to bid around £51m for de Jong, but they may hit a big roadblock in the player's stance surrounding an exit from Barcelona.
"I know that many things are invented, you write things that are not true. You are doing it in general with many players, even coaches. You cannot do that, you’re inventing things," said de Jong in a fiery outburst to the media recently.
"It’s a lot of smoke, a lot of lies, that I’m earning €40 million (£34m) or so… the truth is that it is far from what I earn. I won’t say figures, but they have invented a story that is not true.
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"I am very happy at Barca, it is the club of my dreams. I hope to continue playing for Barca for many years.
"I consider that the club is my teammates, the staff… and I am enjoying it a lot. The press sometimes criticise my level, that doesn’t matter because everyone can have their opinion. But I don’t accept lies."
As the Dutchman looks far more unlikely to consider leaving the Camp Nou based on these comments, Spurs may have to look elsewhere, and a potential bargain alternative they have in their sights is Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The 28-year-old, who is out of contract this summer as things stand, could sign for Spurs on a Bosman deal.
Tottenham "have positioned" themselves for Rabiot
According to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, relayed by Sport Witness, Tottenham "have positioned" themselves to sign Rabiot and are capable of offering the player a "super salary" worth more than the £125,000-per-week (roughly) he is on right now.
Arsenal and Liverpool are in the same position, though, so the race for his signature could be a very interesting one.
“We are talking about a problem for Juventus because in Italy he may have been targeted for criticism, but in France it’s completely different," said former Juventus striker David Trezeguet.
"He is world-class, an extraordinary player. Now he will evaluate his options and will go back to being the important player he always was.”
