Transfer insider Dean Jones believes that Tottenham Hotspur are more likely to sign Franck Kessie than Weston McKennie, although any deal will have to wait until the summer.

AC Milan’s Kessie has been heavily linked with a potential move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but any deal may well have to be struck at the end of the season, when his contract expires.

What’s the deal with Spurs?

They are attempting to strengthen Antonio Conte’s squad in the January transfer window ahead of next week’s deadline.

GiveMeSport revealed on Tuesday that the club had reached an agreement to pay Adama Traore £120,000-per-week, although they have yet to table a formal bid to sign him from Wolves.

Still, there remains confidence that the deal will be done prior to the transfer deadline.

Spurs seem to want more than just Traore, though, and there are reports claiming that they hold a real interest in signing Kessie from Milan.

However, with his contract expiring, it appears that the deal is mainly being engineered for the summer, when he can move on a free transfer and potentially net a large signing-on fee.

McKennie has also been linked with the club, as director of football Fabio Paratici is said to be a fan of the player he signed for Juventus, and reports claiming Conte has requested his signing this month.

But Jones believes that a deal for Kessie, who has been hailed as "intelligent" by Vincenzo Montella, while Antonio Cassano has called him "devastating", is more likely, even if it isn’t going to happen for a few months yet.

What did Jones say?

Speaking to GiveMeSport, he said: “I think Kessie is more likely for the summer and if that’s the case, it’s going to be Kessie or McKennie, you’re not going to be signing both of those players.

“And actually, McKennie has done pretty well to work his way in at Juve and I’d be surprised if they let him go. Of those two, I’d say Kessie is more likely.”

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Does this make sense?

Absolutely.

Kessie seems to be one of the prime targets of Paratici and his deal expiring means that he isn’t going to cost the club a penny when it comes to a transfer fee.

McKennie is a United States international and he has a contract with Juve until 2025, while he is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt.

Pursuing the latter instead of the former doesn’t make any sense whatsoever and waiting for Kessie’s contract to expire is the smart move, provided that a deal can be struck in the summer.

This is the best strategy.