Tottenham interested in Norwich’s Max Aarons, Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele as possible solutions at right back

Right back has been a weak spot for Tottenham for a while, but this year has still been especially brutal.

Serge Aurier has struggled heavily on the pitch and has made a couple errors that have decided games. Kyle Walker-Peters has been injured and/or not favored by Jose Mourinho, so Spurs don’t have many options at a position they were once very strong in.

The January transfer window is now open, and Spurs might actually be taking part in it this year.

According to a report from Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, Tottenham “retain interest” in Norwich City’s Max Aarons and RB Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele. Both players are promising, young right backs.

Thomas claims Spurs aren’t the only side interested in Aarons.

They face competition for Aarons, however, with Everton, West Ham and Arsenal joining the 19-year-old’s list of admirers - and he would be available for around £30m.

At first glance, Aarons seems like the more likely purchase. He already plays in the Premier League, and Mukiele plays for Leipzig, who Tottenham drew in the next round of the Champions League. It’s hard to imagine Leipzig would be willing to sell its first-choice RB to Spurs just a few weeks before such an important tie against them.

Aarons, who is just 19-years-old, played 90 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Spurs on December 28. Some of his stats aren’t as good as they were last year, but that’s to be expected after a promotion from the Championship. At times, he hasn’t had much help along the Norwich back line.

Mukiele is 22, so he’s old compared to Aarons, but he’s still quite young. He has two goals and one assist in 12 appearances in the Bundesliga this season. Leipzig bought the Frenchman from Montpellier for €16 million in 2018.

Both of these links are encouraging, if they’re true. It’s pretty clear that Tottenham needs to buy this window, and it’s pretty clear that a right back is needed. Aurier is a liability at the moment.

The situation now is a far cry from the days of a few years back, when Kyle Walker and Danny Rose formed the best fullback pairing in England, and one of the best in the world. Rose isn’t the player he was and lately hasn’t been featuring under Mourinho.

To make things worse, Kieran Trippier was sold in the summer and wasn’t replaced. Davinson Sanchez and Moussa Sissoko have had to deputize at right back at times.

You could make the argument that Spurs need a left back too. Ben Davies is out with a long-term ankle injury, and Rose could be in his final year with the club. But it doesn’t seem likely that Tottenham would buy two fullbacks in one January transfer window.

Right back might be the most obvious need for January, which is a notoriously tough time to buy players. The replacements at other positions will likely have to wait until the summer, unless Daniel Levy does something really surprising.