£80m Tottenham star set to leave as Levy eyes “very ambitious” replacement

Tottenham Hotspur are “set to lose” a key player, with chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s recruitment team concretely eyeing a “very ambitious” replacement, according to a report this week.

Spurs earmark potential January transfer targets for Postecoglou

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou commented on the club’s transfer plans for January in a recent press conference, refusing to rule out the possibility of his side making new signings once the window reopens for business.

The north Londoners have suffered from a plethora of injury blows and absentees in the last few weeks, with star defender Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison all sidelined recently.

No 1 Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is also out for the foreseeable future after an operation on his fractured right ankle, meaning Postecoglou is set to rely on Fraser Forster between the sticks. Meanwhile, Rodrigo Bentancur won’t be eligible for their next six domestic matches after his ban.

Postecoglou’s squad has been stretched to the bare bones as they attempt to compete on all four fronts, and the Australian suggested that January transfers are a possibility after numerous meetings with technical director Johan Lange.

“We’re always planning, planning for every scenario. A lot of it will depend on where we are as a squad at that time,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s plans for January.

“Between now and then, it is only really [Cristian] Romero and [Micky] van de Ven who will be back in that time frame, but Richy [Richarlison] will hopefully be back in the new year, and we will just assess where we are squad-wise but certainly, with Johan [Lange] I’ve already had a number of meetings for a strategy in January.

“I think last year we did a little bit of business which ended up helping us, but nothing concrete now because January is always tricky, and it depends on where we are squad-wise.”