Tottenham Hotspur have allegedly been handed a boost in their efforts to sign Juventus winger Samuel Iling-Junior, whom the Old Lady have slashed their asking price for.
While Alejo Veliz was poached from Rosario Central over the summer, the Lilywhites opted to spread their Harry Kane funds around the attacking line rather than target a big-name centre-forward.
Brennan Johnson, Manor Solomon and James Maddison all made the move to North London to join the Ange Postecoglou revolution, while Dejan Kulusevski's switch from Juventus was made permanent too.
However, Tottenham's wide ranks have been decimated due to injuries in the first half of the campaign, as all of Solomon, Ryan Sessegnon and Ivan Perisic will remain out until various points of 2024 following surgeries.
Richarlison has also spent time out with a groin operation, and while the Brazilian should return in the coming weeks, Postecoglou currently only has Johnson, Kulusevski and Bryan Gil as his wide options while Son Heung-min plays centrally.
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As a result, wingers are expected to be Tottenham's mid-season priority when the window reopens in January, and several young players have been linked with a switch to the English capital for the second half of the campaign.
Juventus starlet Iling-Junior - a former Chelsea academy product - is said to be one name on Spurs' wishlist, and the Bianconeri are not in a position to demand an astronomical fee for the 20-year-old, whose contract only runs until 2025.
According to Calciomercato, Juventus have now reduced their asking price for Iling-Junior, whom they previously valued at €20m (£17.2m), but a fee of €18m (£15.4m) could now do the trick.
The Serie A giants are known to be in the market for midfield additions in January, having lost Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli to lengthy suspensions for doping and gambling offences respectively.
In order to finance a move for a new lynchpin, the Old Lady could be prepared to sanction the sale of Iling-Junior, and they will happily entertain appropriate offers from interested parties.
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Should the winger depart, a return to the Premier League is thought to be his most likely next career move amid his current struggles to become a regular starter for Massimiliano Allegri.
Iling-Junior left Chelsea in 2020 to sign up for the Juventus academy, and he has progressed through the ranks to play 22 times for the senior team, scoring one goal and setting up three more.
However, the England Under-21 international - whose favoured position is on the left - has only made four substitute appearances in the 2023-24 Serie A season, and he has been an unused substitute in eight of Juve's last nine top-flight games.
As well as Iling-Junior, Tottenham are also rumoured to be tracking PSV Eindhoven's Johan Bakayoko, although Brentford are prepared to battle them for the Belgian's signature.
Al-Ittihad winger Jota - who worked under Postecoglou at Celtic - apparently wants to end his Saudi Pro League nightmare by joining Spurs in January, but the Tottenham boss is not totally sold on the idea of reuniting with the Portuguese.
Ben Knapton
