Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has identified Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik as a potential signing this summer, sources have told GIVEMESPORT.
The Spurs boss is keen to recruit back-up to current forward Harry Kane in the upcoming transfer window and Milik is viewed as an attainable target.
The 26-year-old has one year left on his current contract but any pursuit is complicated by the fact that Mourinho has been informed he will have to raise money for signings by moving players on.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive effect on Spurs’ transfer budget and means there is less room to manoeuver financially.
Milik joined Napoli in 2016 and has scored 47 goals in 112 outings for the club, including 10 in 17 in Serie A this season.
Spurs have a number of options when it comes to financing a deal and there is the possibility that Erik Lamela could be offered as bait in part-exchange.
Lamela has made just four starts in the Premier League since Mourinho’s appointment as manager and the signing of Steven Bergwijn in the January transfer window has left him as an expendable member of the Portuguese’s squad.
He could subsequently be given the chance to return to Serie A, having moved to Spurs from Roma in the wake of Gareth Bale’s departure in 2013.
It remains to be seen if Spurs will be able to convince Milik to make such a move, however, as Juventus have also been widely credited with an interest in the Poland international.
Elsewhere, Spurs are also keen to sign Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but, again, the deal is complicated by a lack of resources.
Kyle Walker-Peters, however, may play a key role in any transfer.
The right-back was loaned to the club in the January transfer window and one source has claimed he is likely to be offered to the Saints on a permanent basis to bring Hojbjerg’s asking price down.
Manager Mourinho is keen to bring in a defensive midfielder in order to institute his preferred playing style but believes his options are currently limited.
Indeed, Eric Dier, who has played in the role for Spurs before, has excelled at centre-back since the resumption of proceedings and it is understood that both the player and his manager would like him to play in defence for the foreseeable future.
Hojbjerg, then, has become a key target and Spurs have made it clear they would like to sign him when the window reopens.
The former Bayern Munich player has a contract until 2021, meaning it may come down to a game of bluff in terms of the asking price, given how loathe Southampton would be to lose him for nothing at the end of next season.
It also remains to be seen if Spurs would be willing to wait.