Tottenham round-up: Monitoring 22-year-old; Rivals target Sanchez; Scouts watch Pereira

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Tottenham are set to ramp up their recruitment drive during the coming days with a number of players being targeted by the club. The Mirror report that they are keeping an eye on Keita Balde’s situation after the forward was left out of Lazio’s Supercoppa Italiana squad. The 22-year-old has fallen out with the club and has refused to sign a new contract this summer, amid interest from Juventus. The Romans don’t want to sell to the Serie A champions, which means that a move to the Premier League or another European League is a possibility.

Balde has only 12 months left on his current deal and his current relationship with the Lazio board means that he could be available for a reasonable fee. He has plenty of talent, as he showed last season, as he contributed 18 goals and six assists. Tottenham need to have more options in their squad and the 22-year-old would be an exciting signing, with the potential to improve a lot under Mauricio Pochettino. He is a player the club should pursue.

After not making a signing to date, Spurs are closing in on their first in the form of Davinson Sanchez. However, the deal isn’t complete yet and Telegraaf report that Real Madrid and Chelsea are both interested in the centre back. Pochettino thought that a deal had been done after the club agreed to pay £35 million, but rival clubs refuse to give up hope.

It does appear that Tottenham are favourites to sign the Colombian this summer, but they can’t afford to get complacent and let this deal drag on for longer than it has to. Sanchez is regarded as one of the most exciting centre-back talents in the world and the other clubs linked have the ability to outbid Spurs, if they can’t get this one over the line. This deal is worth keeping an eye on, as it could get done quickly. If it doesn’t, it could be hugely damaging to Spurs.

The right back position remains an area of concern for the club and The Sun report that Tottenham sent scouts to watch Porto defender Ricardo Pereira on Sunday. Manchester United have also been credited with an interest and they had a representative at the match too. The 23-year-old had a successful loan spell with Nice during the last two seasons and he is regarded as one of the best young players in his position. If Pochettino enters the market for a right-back, Pereira is likely to be one of his priority targets.

A few weeks ago, the position was a concern for Tottenham as they had just sold Kyle Walker. The injury to Kieran Trippier increased the desire among supports to bring in a right-back, but Pochettino placed belief in his squad and was rewarded. Kyle Walker-Peters delivered an assured performance on his debut yesterday. He remains raw, but he has talent and it could be that Spurs decide to wait for a later window to sign a right-back.