Defence, defence, defence.

That will surely be the message Jose Mourinho drives home to Daniel Levy this summer.

Since walking through the doors of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mourinho's side have conceded a whopping 42 goals.

Jan Vertonghen looks a shadow of his former self, while right-back Serge Aurier has been far from convincing.

It's hardly surprising the duo could both leave once the window opens.

Vertongthen is out of contract at the end of the month while it's been claimed that Danny Rose, Kyle Walker-Peters and Aurier could all be sold.

In terms of departures, it's likely to be a busy summer.

Though, as far as incomings go, they'll have to replace the defenders that potentially depart as well.

Vertonghen

Robin Koch and Diego Carlos have both been linked, as too has Gabriel Magalhaes at Lille.

Though, their interest in the latter has now increased to a concrete bid for the Brazilian.

That's according to Fichajes.net who suggest Spurs can close the transfer for a fee of €30m (£27.2m).

Gabriel

The report claims Tottenham have liked Gabriel since their days under Mauricio Pochettino, but they'll have to fight away interest from Italy where Napoli are eager to sign the defender.

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...

A price of £27.2m for a player of Gabriel's quality is almost daylight robbery.

Earlier this year, Lille president Gerard Lopez was full of superlatives for the 22-year-old:

"I feel he is among the top five dominant central defenders in Europe right now. His statistics, which aren't well covered outside of France, shows that his percentage for winning duels is pretty unheard of in a league that's extremely physical." 

A physical player, it bodes particularly well if he comes to the Premier League, a division known for being more fast-paced than others around the globe.

To touch on what Lopez says, Gabriel has won a colossal 3.5 aerial duels per game - a statistic that puts him ahead of everyone in the entire Spurs squad.

The best at Tottenham this season is Eric Dier on 3.3 aerial duels won per match. For a central defender achieving regular minutes, you have to scroll down to Vergonthen for the best, and he's set to leave.

Given his imminent departure, signing a physical player like Gabriel would be timely. After submitting an initial bid, they'll now have to hope he agrees to personal terms.