Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly joined the race to sign AC Milan defender and ex-Chelsea man Fikayo Tomori as Ange Postecoglou seeks solutions to his side's defensive crisis.
The Lilywhites have been forced to cope without first-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero for the entire festive period due to the hamstring issues that they sustained in the 4-3 loss to Chelsea in December.
In addition, Ben Davies has suffered a setback in his recovery from his own hamstring injury, which will render him unavailable for another couple of weeks, and Spurs have slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table thanks in no small part to their ravaged rearguard.
At present, Postecoglou has no choice but to deploy 18-year-old Archie Gray as a makeshift centre-back alongside Radu Dragusin, although fellow teenager Alfie Dorrington is another option.
All of Davies, Van de Ven and Romero should be back at some point this month, but Daniel Levy is facing incessant calls from supporters to get his chequebook out and reinforce his team's defence this winter.
Tottenham 'in four-team battle' to sign Tomori
Those pleas may not fall on deaf ears, as talkSPORT claims that Tottenham are now one of four Premier League teams in the running to sign Tomori from AC Milan during the January window.
The 27-year-old was previously a mainstay of the Rossoneri defence but has lost his status as an undisputed starter this season, only playing 13 minutes of Serie A football since the November international break.
Tomori's situation has supposedly put both Tottenham and Newcastle United on red alert, while Brentford and West Ham United are also showing interest in bringing him back to the Premier League.
Spurs would be at the immediate advantage of being able to offer Tomori Europa League football right away, but Newcastle are genuine contenders for a spot in the 2025-26 Champions League, sitting just three points shy of the top four.
The Canada-born England international made just 17 appearances in the Premier League with Chelsea before joining Milan, where he is under contract until the summer of 2027.
How much should Tottenham expect to pay for Tomori?
Milan are hopeful of making a small profit on the €35.3m (£29.3m) they paid Chelsea for Tomori in 2021, and a separate report has claimed that they could hold out for a fee of €38m (£31.5m) this month.
However, if that fee proves too steep for interested parties, the Italian giants will supposedly be open to offers closer to the €35m (£29m) mark, by no means unaffordable for a club of Spurs' stature.
The Lilywhites are also rumoured to be tracking the progress of Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, but another reported target - Paris Saint-Germain's Milan Skriniar - is purportedly in talks with another European giant.
Tottenham play their first Premier League game of 2025 at home to Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime, where a win would lift them above Brighton & Hove Albion into the top half of the table. body check tags ::
