Tottenham should hijack Arsenal’s swoop for Herrera to help replace Dembele

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Aaron Ramsey’s departure from Arsenal has been on the cards for some time now and the Guardian report that the Welshman has now finally agreed a deal with Juventus.

But it is not just on the red half of north London that an influential central midfielder looks set to depart for pastures new; earlier this week, Sky Sports reported that local rivals Tottenham had accepted a £9m bid for Mousa Dembele from Beijing Sinobo Guoan.

Italian outfit Tutto Mercato Web report that Arsenal have already trained their sights on a potential Ramsey replacement in the shape of Porto and Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera.

The 28-year-old is apparently attracting attention across Europe – not least because his contract expires at the end of the season – and Tottenham were named as known admirers of Herrera back in September.

With Tottenham losing an experienced campaigner in Dembele at a knockdown price due to his contract situation, Herrera represents an opportunity to replace him at a similar cost.

Herrera is free to negotiate with foreign clubs in this window over a free transfer at the end of the season but with competition stiff, Tottenham could decide to try and skip the queue with a cash offer to get him this month.

It would have the added bonus of forcing Arsenal to look elsewhere to replace Ramsey, but the main appeal is replacing a cut-price departee with a cheaper arrival of a similar age.