Issa Diop, Nordi Mukiele, Sikou Niakité, Batista Mendy.
Before you ask, we’re not making names up, we’re simply listing some of the young centre-backs Tottenham have been linked with over the past few months.
While Niakité and Mendy might be a bit too inexperienced, the interest in Diop and Mukiele strongly suggests Spurs are considering a Toby Alderweireld sale in the summer and could replace him with a young but still somewhat experienced centre-back.
With the Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen pairing seemingly Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice going forward, there’s no need for another 29-year-old in the squad, especially one that will want to start week in, week out and probably will do somewhere else.
Earlier this month, Corriere dello Sport have added another to list (thanks to Peter Coates for finding it), claiming Spurs are once again looking at centre-backs in Argentina following the acquisition of Juan Foyth from Estudiantes last summer.
The 20-year-old in question is Marcos Senesi, currently playing for San Lorenzo, and who has been touted with a move to Serie A, helped by the fact he is represented by an Italian agency.
The fact he’s only played eight games in the league this season for the Argentinian side won’t be a problem, either, as Juan Foyth was also relatively inexperienced when Pochettino brought him in last year.
Our bet would be that Spurs go for someone a bit more experienced if they do sell Alderweireld in the summer, but it wouldn’t be that much of a shock if they once again went down the South American route.
After all, it’s gone alright for Foyth so far.
