Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino are set to end their barren transfer run with a £35m bid for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella, according to reports in The Sun.
Barella, 21, was given his Italy debut by Roberto Mancini last month, and has been in impressive form for Cagliari, attracting interest from Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus and Arsenal.
A move for Barella would be seen as a long-term replacement strategy for Moussa Dembele, 31, who has struggled to nail down a place in the Spurs team owing to injury and the form of his team-mates.
The Italian has made appearances at every Italy age-group since Under-15s, whilst also playing 78 times for Cagliari, scoring seven times.
A move for Barella in January would give Spurs the opportunity to add both depth and quality to their squad, as the Lilywhites go in search of Champions League football for a fourth successive season after making their best ever start to a Premier League campaign with nine wins from 12 games.
There is potential doubt over the move given the notorious financial strictness of Daniel Levy, Spurs Chairman, alongside the ongoing question marks over Spurs’ new stadium and its official opening date, but an investment in Barella could prove to be a masterstroke for the North London outfit as well as allowing the Italian to fulfil a longstanding interest in moving to England and plying his trade in the Premier League.
Spurs host Chelsea at Wembley after the international break, whilst Cagliari host Torino in Serie A.
