Tottenham Hotspur have made an approach to sign a pacey centre-back in January, with his club instructing super-agent Jorge Mendes to try and find the player a new club next month.
Spurs targeting new centre-back for Ange Postecoglou in January
Injuries to Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies have left manager Ange Postecoglou with little option but to play teenage summer signing Archie Gray as a makeshift centre-half.
As of now, Radu Dragusin is Spurs' only fit, natural senior central defensive option, with the Lilywhites now reportedly scouring the market for fresh faces who can reinforce that area of the squad.
Gray has done well in an extremely unfamiliar role, and while Postecoglou expects his starting centre-backs to make a return after the new year, this injury crisis has exposed their lack of depth in the squad.
In light of this, van de Ven, Romero and Davies' absences have apparently pushed technical director Johan Lange and chairman Daniel Levy to consider bringing in a new name for the January window, which is now set to open in just under two weeks.
There are some suggestions that Tottenham have held talks over signing Omar Alderete from Getafe, and he'd be a very doable transfer for the Lilywhites, considering the Paraguayan's contract includes a tempting £13 million release clause.
Another option for Postecoglou is Feyenoord star David Hancko. The Slovakia international, who was a key player during Arne Slot's time as Feyenoord boss, standing out as a capable, ball-playing centre-half, is on Spurs' radar heading into January.
Tottenham are believed to be monitoring Hancko ahead of a potential move in the winter window, as his £35 million price tag from the summer window is also expected to drop (The Boot Room).
New defensive targets are emerging on a consistent basis via media reports, and the latest to be linked is RC Lens starlet Abdukodir Khusanov.
Tottenham make approach to sign Abdukodir Khusanov as RC Lens try to sell
According to French newspaper L'Equipe, as translated and shared by Sport Witness, Tottenham have "come forward" for Khusanov, presumably meaning they've made some sort of approach to Lens.
The Ligue 1 side have told agent Mendes to try and secure a buyer for the Uzbekistan international in January, as they look to raise around £37 million through player sales, and Spurs are apparently one of the teams who've registered an interest - alongside Newcastle United, Manchester City, Leicester City and RB Leipzig.
Lens are demanding around £25 million to sell the 20-year-old outright, but Khusanov is a "headliner" in their squad, and sporting director Diego Lopez had made it clear behind-the-scenes that they're very open to doing business. Khusanov is a player with massive potential, and possesses tempting physical attributes like speed and power.
"Kodir is very, very fast," said Lens head coach Will Still.
"He’s an athlete. We joked that when he went to the Olympics, he could have done all sports with Uzbekistan, he’s so complete."