Tottenham positioned in race for £17m rising star amid doubts about starter

Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans for next year are beginning to take shape as we fast approach the new year, with a “rising star” now on director Johan Lange’s agenda amid some doubt about an Ange Postecoglou mainstay.

Spurs targeting new attacker and defender for Postecoglou

Towards the latter stages of last week, a report by GiveMeSport shared Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s potential transfer plans for January – claiming that a new attacker and defender are on the agenda in north London.

The Lilywhites’ participation in Europe has stretched Postecoglou’s options to the bare bones at times, especially amid the injury statuses surrounding a few of the Australian’s squad members.

Spurs announced that Wilson Odobert underwent hamstring surgery over the weekend, with the FA releasing a statement soon afterward, confirming that midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is banned for seven domestic games after his comments made about Son Heung-min in the summer.

Richarlison is also sidelined and could be out for months, so the need for more options is becoming pretty evident.

In terms of attacking players they could move for in the winter, there are some suggestions that Tottenham could look to take Arda Guler on loan from Real Madrid, with the Turkey international struggling to battle his way into Carlo Ancelotti’s first team on a regular enough basis.

“Guler would be a fantastic pickup for Tottenham,” said commentator Ian Darke to Tottenham News recently.

“He’s a very good young player. He just can’t get in the Real Madrid side because they’ve got Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Mbappe.

“He shone at the Euros and he’ll be frustrated that he doesn’t get on the pitch very much at all. I see Real Madrid a lot. But whether they’d let him go in January, I’m not sure. Once they clinched the title last season they gave him a run of games, and he interestingly came up with a flurry of goals. If you’re talking about signing some class, he’s definitely that.”

There are also rumours that Spurs are ready to move for Tariq Lamptey in January, as Pedro Porro’s form has displayed inconsistency, but the Spaniard isn’t their only player facing criticism.

Tottenham position themselves in race for Lucas Chevalier

Indeed, The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey now write that Tottenham have positioned themselves in the race to sign Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, amid tentative doubts surrounding Guglielmo Vicario.

The Italian has faced some backlash so far this term for his weakness at handling corner kicks, and it is believed Postecoglou’s side are being kept aware of Chevalier as he makes a name for himself in Ligue 1.

The price tag for Lille’s number one, who has put in some impressive Champions League displays, stands at around £17 million – so it is a deal which could be very doable should Spurs opt to go in a different direction to Vicario.