It's been a tough campaign for Tottenham Hotspur this season, made all the more so by Wednesday night's defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby.
Ange Postecoglou's side went into that game with not much to lose and hoping to put the nail in the Gunners' Premier League title challenge, but despite taking the lead, they came away empty-handed.
The Lilywhites were not terrible on the night, but aside from Son Heung-min's goal, they struggled to lay a finger on their bitter rivals, as the indomitable Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba kept them at arm's length for most of the encounter.
The Brazilian was the flashier of the pair, but the French international put in yet another performance that reaffirmed his place among the best centre-backs in world football, and interestingly, recent reports have linked Spurs with a defender who's been compared to him.
Tottenham's search for a centre-back
According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Tottenham are one of several clubs interested in AC Milan star Fikayo Tomori.
Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has revealed that fellow Premier League sides West Ham United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also keen, while Serie A giants Juventus are also thought to be 'preparing a formal offer' of around €25m, which is about £21m.
However, there is no indication of whether that would be enough to tempt the Rossoneri into selling, and according to the report, new manager Sergio Conceicao wants the Englishman to stay 'and play an important role in his tactical set-up.'
It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Tomori's ability and the fact he's won comparisons to Saliba, it's certainly one worth fighting for.
How Tomori compares to Saliba
So, before we get into some of the other reasons Spurs might want to sign Tomori this month, let's examine this comparison to Saliba and where it comes from.
Well, it primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Frenchman is the second most similar centre-back to the Englishman over the last 365 days.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, passing accuracy, expected assists, tackles won, tackles plus interceptions, clearances, fouls won and more, all per 90.
With that said, while being compared to one of the most highly-rated defenders in the game today is certainly reason enough to sign the Milan ace, there are others as well.
For example, the "phenomenal" 27-year-old, as dubbed by content creator George Benson, now has bucket loads of experience, from playing in the Premier League and Serie A to winning domestic cups and the league itself with Milan; he'd bring a much-needed winners mentality to Posetcoglou's dressing room.
Ultimately, it could be a tricky transfer to get over the line, but signing Tomori this month would help massively improve Spurs' defence and squad overall, so Daniel Levy and Co should do what they can to get it done as soon as possible.