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Tottenham have a trump card up their sleeve as they continue to battle it out with Napoli for Radu Dragusin's signature in January. The Romanian centre-back reportedly prefers a move to the Premier League over staying in Italy, which serves as a massive boost for the English club.
That is according to football.London, who claim Spurs are in regular communication with Genoa over a possible transfer. It is understood Tottenham initially offered £18million while Genoa are demanding £26m.
Reports in Italy claim the two sides could settle on a fee of around £23m. Meanwhile, Napoli are hoping to persuade Genoa to sell their young starlet to them by offering a player-plus-cash swap deal.
But Tottenham also have an ace in their hand when it comes to the playing time they can offer Dragusin. Spurs' backline has been plagued by injuries this season meaning the Juventus academy graduate can be thrown straight into the starting XI.
Micky van de Ven recently returned to training after recovering from a serious hamstring injury but the same can't be said for Cristian Romero and Eric Dier, who both remain on the sidelines. Meanwhile, make-shift centre-back Ben Davies recently picked up a hamstring injury during a 1-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup on Friday.
In theory, Dragusin would start alongside Van de Ven ahead of the other centre-backs Ange Postecoglou has available to him. Spurs will be hoping to get the deal done as soon as possible with the injury crisis at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium worsening by the day but defence isn't the only area they are looking to shore up.
The first done deal of the January transfer window for Tottenham looks like it will be for a striker. Tottenham have agreed to sign Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig with the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.
The German international is scheduled to fly to London on Sunday to complete his medical and finalise the deal that will see Spurs cover his wages for the rest of the season. Leipzig boss Marco Rose recently confirmed the forward's imminent move back to the Premier League following a spell with Chelsea.
"It's right that Timo wants to go on loan. Timo would like to go to the European Championship," Rose told Sky Germany. "We wish him all the best and are keeping our fingers crossed for him."
