Tottenham Hotspur will make signing a defender a top priority this summer.
Jan Vertonghen looks set to end his lengthy stay in North London with speculation suggesting that he's in talks with Roma over a summer move.
While the defender has agreed to extend his stay to the end of the season, his future beyond that is very much in doubt.
That means that for Spurs, they are likely to be looking for a suitable replacement.
But while first team ready players are the main priority, Tottenham are bound to have one eye on the future.
One player who could be targeting is Djed Spence.
According to ESPN, the Middlesbrough defender is a summer target for the North London side.
The 19-year-old has burst onto the scene at the Riverside Stadium this term and has established himself as a regular feature in the first team squad.
That emergence has seen Spence become a transfer target for Spurs, West Ham Southampton, Sheffield United and Burnley.
It's claimed that Jose Mourinho's said may need to fork out around £10million to convince Middlesbrough to sell, with Spence likely to be a big part of their plans in the coming years.
Neil Warnock, who is managing Middlesbrough until the end of the season, has recently heaped praise on the defender, saying that he has the potential to be as good as Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He said: "If you look at one or two of the full-backs that are around now -- the lad at Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the lad at Manchester United from Palace [Aaron Wan-Bissaka] -- they are all the same type as Djed.
"He does have enormous ability, and when you've got ability like that it's criminal if you don't get to the very top.
"But as I said to him in that first couple of weeks, he'll only have himself to blame if he doesn't get to the very top."
GIVEMESPORT'S Phil Spencer says...
This could be a smart move for the future.
Djed Spence has all of the attributes to be a top, top players in years to come and so signing him up now could be smart.
I don't think he's ready for the top flight just yet, but if Spurs were to sign him before loaning him back to Middlesbrough for the season, that could be a wise move to help him mature as a footballer and a person before making the trip to North London.