Tottenham Hotspur have been fans of one South American defensive starlet for a long time, but they face plenty of competition for his services.
Spurs prioritised signing proven Premier League performers as part of their major squad rebuild this summer, but there are already signs that the club may decide to supplement that with talented youngsters in January.
According to reports, Tottenham failed with an offer for a 19-year-old Brazilian centre-back in the final days of the summer transfer window.
The player in question is Athletico Paranaense’s Arthur Dias, who is quickly forging a reputation as one of the best young defenders in Brazilian football.
Tottenham facing competition from PL rivals for Arthur Dias
TEAMtalk have now confirmed that Spurs have set their sights on Dias, who has continued to deliver fine performances for Athletico Paranaense over recent weeks.
Those performances have led to the teenager being called up for the Brazil squad by Carlo Ancelotti for the upcoming friendlies against Australia and India.
The report says that the left-footed defender has been on Tottenham’s radar for some time and that the Lilywhites are continuing to follow his progress closely.
However, De Zerbi’s men have been joined in the race by Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford, who are all monitoring the centre-back ahead of the January window.
Dias’ list of admirers could grow over the coming months
TEAMtalk reveal that the youngster is already attracting interest from other corners of Europe, including Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal.
If Dias does make his debut for the Selecao during the international break, there will be even more eyeballs on him and the list of his admirers could grow further.
The publication adds that Atletico are now considering offering Dias a new contract to protect the value of their asset.