Tottenham are continuing talks over a deal for Porto winger Luis Diaz, with the club hoping to make at least one new signing before the transfer window shuts on Monday.
Sky Sports News reported earlier this week that Spurs had opened talks with Porto and are willing to pay up to £46m for Diaz.
Sources in Portugal suggest Spurs are prepared to offer £37.6m up front for Diaz, with an additional £8.4m in performance-related add-ons.
However, Porto are holding out for a fee of £50.2m for the 25-year-old, who has 16 goals and six assists in 28 games for the Portuguese side this season.
Spurs are hoping to bring in at least one new signing this month regardless of whether they offload Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele or Giovani Lo Celso, although doing so could allow them to do more work to the squad.
Spurs and Alli are yet to find a suitable option for the player that will allow him to play regular games and try to resurrect his best form, although Everton may emerge as an option once they announce their new manager.
Ndombele remains the subject of talks over a potential move to either Paris Saint-Germain – his top choice – or Valencia.
Tanganga expected to stay | Conte wants to sign a centre-back
Japhet Tanganga’s Spurs future is clearer, however, with the defender expected to stay in north London this month despite interest from AC Milan.
Spurs head coach Antonio Conte has told the 22-year-old and the club that he wants him in the squad following his recent performances in the absences of Cristian Romero and Eric Dier.
Tottenham are concentrating their efforts on improving other areas of the team and there does not appear to be any viable new centre-backs on the market for them this month that may have allowed Tanganga to go.
In the long-term, Conte would like to bring in another top left-footed centre-half at Tottenham.
However, centre-back Joe Rodon could leave on loan to get more game time before the window closes but he does not currently have a concrete option.
Analysis: Diaz deal would signal Spurs’ commitment to Conte
Sky Sports’ Declan Olley:
Tottenham fans have been here before. Paulo Dybala and Bruno Fernandes in the summer of 2019, and even Joao Moutinho way back in the summer of 2012. They were the nearly men. The big-name signings the club were sensationally set to pull off, only for them to fall through.
The false dawns have become all too familiar for Spurs fans and they are unlikely to settle for another repeat with Porto’s Luis Diaz, and more importantly, nor will head coach Conte.
The next two windows are critical in the Italian’s future at Tottenham. Back him and Spurs have the chance to get themselves back in the Champions League and start competing for honours. But fail to match his ambition and Tottenham will not just drift further from the elite, they will risk losing Conte.
A successful move for Diaz would prove Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is serious in backing Conte. A £46m deal for the Colombian, or even the £50.2m that Porto are holding out for, would be the second-most expensive signing in Tottenham’s history.
The move makes sense on the pitch too. Spurs’ reliance on Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son’s goals is clear – 56 per cent of the team’s goals in the Premier League since the start of last season have been scored by the pair. Diaz could bring the extra firepower the squad needs, having scored 20 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for club and country this season.
There is no doubt Diaz would be an exciting signing. But Spurs fans have been here before, and until he is wearing the shirt, they will continue to question the club’s commitment in backing the best manager they could possibly have right now.
