Graham Potter wants to bring in a new right wing-back this month to provide cover and competition for Reece James, after being disappointed with the options available to him while the England international is out.
Chelsea are ‘lurking’ as Tottenham try to complete a deal for Pedro Porro in January.
Spurs have been in talks with Sporting Lisbon for weeks, attempting to entice the right wing-back away from the Portuguese club, who initially insisted he would only leave if his release clause was fully paid.
Two productive meetings on Wednesday brought Tottenham closer to a breakthrough, and they are now on the verge of reaching an agreement.
Spurs are set to pay a figure close to Porro’s £39m release clause, but instead of paying in one lump sum – as Sporting had originally insisted – they will be allowed to pay in instalments in exchange for writing off some of the 50% sell-on clause owed if Marcus Edwards is sold.
Tottenham are now racing to complete the deal amid fears that Chelsea will swoop in at the last minute, as they did to Arsenal with Mykhailo Mudryk.
Graham Potter wants to bring in a new right wing-back this month to provide cover and competition for Reece James, after being disappointed with the options available to him while the England international is out.
Chelsea are also in talks with Lyon about 19-year-old right-back Malo Gusto, but if the French club continues to play hardball, Chelsea may shift their focus to Porro.
The Spaniard is a target for Chelsea, but they can’t sweeten the deal like Spurs can by changing Edwards’ sell-on clause, so they’d have to pay the full £39 million release clause.
For the time being, Porro and his agent are solely focused on securing a move to Tottenham, while Chelsea’s right-back search is primarily focused on Gusto.
Sporting and Tottenham have advanced their talks sufficiently that the Portuguese club is already looking for a replacement, and they have their sights set on someone familiar to Chelsea.
According to The Athletic, the Portuguese club has contacted Brighton about the possibility of loaning out Tariq Lamptey, who came through Chelsea’s academy.
Porro, meanwhile, is thought to be Antonio Conte’s top target this month, with the 23-year-old an ideal fit for the Italian system as well as more attacking pedigree, having scored or assisted eight times in 14 league appearances this season.