The Daily Mail’s Matt Barlow believes that Tottenham Hotspur are more likely to sign a 25-year-old centre-forward in January than Ivan Toney.
It has been reported over recent weeks that Tottenham are considering a potential January loan move for Ivan Toney.
This is because signing the England international on a temporary deal would allow him to avoid a big tax bill, which he will be hit with if his lucrative Saudi contract is terminated early.
However, other sources over recent days have suggested that Toney is not expected to leave Al-Ahli in January, with a return to the Premier League only on the cards next summer for the 29-year-old.
Dusan Vlahovic deemed a more likely signing for Tottenham
Tottenham have been mentioned as Dusan Vlahovic’s most likely destination in January by several Italian outlets.
However, it has been suggested more recently that Vlahovic is more likely to remain at Juventus following the appointment of Luciano Spalletti.
While Barlow also confirms that the Bianconeri’s stance on the Serbian has changed since the change of manager, he suggested that the former Fiorentina man is still a more likely signing for Spurs than Toney.
Barlow said in a Q&A on The Daily Mail: “Right now, the priority (for Tottenham) appears to be at centre forward, but Spurs need one from the very top bracket to improve the team and not another from the next level down to clutter what they already have.
“When January comes around, it may be that Dominic Solanke is fit and in form, and the issue feels like something that can wait until the summer.
The Paratici factor makes me think they will at the very least, check out what’s happening with Dusan Vlahovic, whose contract at Juventus expires in June. His situation has changed slightly since Luciano Spalletti replaced Igor Tudor as boss.
“Spalletti says he wants to keep Vlahovic and would like him to sign a new deal, but the 25-year-old Serb is on big wages worth £10million a year after tax, and a free transfer in the summer would be hugely lucrative for him.
“If Spurs can afford to pay him what he is asking for, then this deal, either in January or in the summer, feels at this stage a more viable option than Ivan Toney, who has been subject to a lot of speculation because of his links to Thomas Frank.”
Other sources disagree with Matt Barlow on Spurs’ priority in January
While The Mail reporter suggests here that a number nine is Thomas Frank’s top priority in January, other outlets have reported something different.
It has been claimed by a few sources that Tottenham are set to prioritise signing a wide-forward over a striker in January.
With news breaking earlier this week that Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his contract, one would expect the Lilywhites to push ahead with a move for the Bournemouth man.