Tottenham are prepared to battle North London rivals Arsenal for the signature of Geoffrey Kondogbia by submitting a £21 million bid for the Monaco star, the Mirror are reporting.
Reports from Italy last week suggested Kondogbia, who scored against Arsenal in the Champions League last season, had held talks with Arsene Wenger over a possible move to the Emirates Stadium this summer.
But the FA Cup holders will now face competition from Tottenham for the 22-year-old France international, who can count Spanish champions Barcelona and both Milan clubs among a lengthy list of admirers.
Spurs have kept their counsel after rumours began to swirl in Spain suggesting they had lodged an official bid for Kondogbia in a bid to steal a march on their fierce enemy.
Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring a specialist holding midfielder to White Hart Lane this summer, having been left decidedly unimpressed by Benjamin Stambouli following his switch from Montpellier last summer, and Kondogbia certainly fits the profile.
A possible move for PSG’s unsettled midfielder Yohan Cabaye – formerly of Newcastle – has also been dismissed by Spurs, whilst Pochettino is will have to offload some of the deadwood in his squad before any signing any new players, with Roberto Soldado, Vlad Chiriches and Etienne Capoue all up for sale.