Report: Tottenham monitoring Ndombele, Bournemouth quartet among others

Tottenham Hotspur is coming up with its transfer plans for future windows, and may already have some targets in mind.

According to Sky Sports News, Spurs have a list of players they would like in the case of certain departures and independent of other moves. The report says that the club would be interested in adding a central midfielder and a center back in January, while other targets to replace certain outgoings might be signed in the summer.

Spurs will wait on the exits of Fernando Llorente and Michel Vorm before getting their replacements, and will do the same for Toby Alderweireld, who has a clause in his contract that significantly drops his transfer fee, and Mousa Dembélé, who is out of contract in the summer. Jan Vertonghen is also out of contract in the summer, but expects to sign an extension as his contract winds down.

As for specific players, Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele is once again at the top of the list. The midfielder was a target over the summer, and is one again. His possible backups, should the club fail to sign him again, include Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and Amadou Haidara from Red Bull Salzburg.

Additionally, the report noted that Spurs need to work to comply with the homegrown rule, and identified that a quartet of Bournemouth players could help Spurs comply with that in addition to aiding them on the pitch. Nathan Aké is a target to add depth in defense, but it is unknown how willing parent club Chelsea is to sell to Spurs, and may already have an agreement to sell him to Bournemouth. In other positions, Lewis Cook, David Brooks, and Callum Wilson “have admirers” at the club, per Sky Sports.

What ultimately happens in January will be a matter of the market, though. Per the report, Spurs will determine if ideal replacements for certain out of contract players can be found six months in advance, and will only then make new signings.