Tottenham Hotspur could have an "interesting bidding war" on the horizon for 2024 with manager Ange Postecoglou apparently "very keen" on one player.
Spurs identify upgrades for Postecoglou
Injuries to star players Micky van de Ven and James Maddison have seriously exposed Spurs' lack of depth in their squad, and while they'll both be back by January, it's perhaps imperative for the club to consider their options moving forward.
Maddison and van de Ven's absences, not to mention suspensions for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, have left Spurs very short – resulting in back-to-back Premier League defeats prior to the international break.
“Micky obviously with that hamstring injury, we knew it was fairly significant, probably a couple of months for him looking into the new year," said Postecoglou on van de Ven and Maddison.
“[Maddison] is a lot worse than we thought. He came off with an ankle injury and the next day wasn’t great, so we sent him for a scan. Again probably into the new year for him."
These glaring holes in Postecoglou's squad are there for all to see, with reports suggesting Tottenham want a left-sided centre-back as an alternative to van de Ven moving forward.
The likes of Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly and Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah have both been linked with Spurs in the last few days, while it is also believed that the Lilywhites are eyeing up new attackers.
Genoa midfielder Albert Gudmundsson and Al-Ittihad winger Jota are reported candidates to for the left-wing role, as Postecoglou is short of natural options behind Dejan Kulusevski.
Ange "very keen" on signing Jota
According to TEAMtalk, the Spurs boss is actually "very keen" on Jota, but a rule change in Saudi Arabia means he could have to wait until later in 2024 to get him.
Regardless, the report suggests an "interesting bidding war" could be on the cards next year over the 24-year-old. The former Celtic star, who Postecoglou knows well from their time at Celtic together, is also attracting interest from multiple Champions League sides.
Jota was a star at Parkhead before his move to Al-Ittihad, scoring 11 goals and assisting 11 others the Scottish Premiership alone during his final season. TEAMtalk add that he cost also be available for around £30 million, which comes as a pretty affordable fee where Tottenham are concerned.
Former Scotland international and Spurs right-back Alan Hutton commenting on the Portugual international's exceptional ability last year, calling him an "exciting" player and saying what Jota did for Celtic was nothing short of incredible.
"Jota's only 23-years-old, he's still developing," explained Hutton to Football Insider.
"He's probably only going to get better, I think he can get better. What he's done this season has been incredible, for him to come from his parent club, where he's not really been playing. Benfica are a big club in their own right but to come to another club where there's a lot of pressure, to perform at such a young age, he's stood up to that task.
“Jota's that player fans want to see. He's exciting, he takes people on, he makes things happen, he scores goals and ticks all the boxes."
