Tottenham are eager to poach Manchester City star this month

Manchester City are head of Tottenham in the Premier League table, but Spurs hope that poaching a player from Guardiola’s squad can help change that.

One of Pep Guardiola‘s biggest challenges at Manchester City is keeping every player in his talent laden squad happy. Tottenham are looking to take advantage of the glut of talent available to Guardiola this month.

Specifically, Jose Mourinho is preparing to launch a raid on City for the services of right back Joao Cancelo in the coming days. According to Desmarque, Spurs will need to beat out Barcelona to acquire the talented fullback. If successful, Tottenham would slot the 25-year-old Portuguese fullback right into their starting XI.

Cancelo’s biggest issue with life at City is that he can’t seem to dislodge former Tottenham star Kyle Walker for a consistent place in Guardiola’s starting lineup. The competition for him would be much less fierce at Tottenham. Serge Aurier is the current first choice right back for Mourinho, but his inconsistency is a huge issue for higher-ups at the club. Cancelo would be able to immediately displace him in the pecking order of Tottenham’s Portuguese gaffer.

The real question is whether or not City are going to give into Cancelo’s alleged desire for a transfer. They purchased him to be Walker’s long-term replacement. It’s possible that Guardiola will encourage the higher-ups at City to be patient with Cancelo’s development. Walker is nearing the end of the prime of his playing career. It’s very likely Cancelo could wait him out and become the club’s consistent starter very soon.

On the other hand, City may have already decided that Cancelo isn’t the world-class fullback they hoped he’d become. If that’s the case, a January move to Tottenham would make a lot of sense for everyone involved. City would undoubtedly try to take advantage of Spurs’ desperation to add a new starting back this month. They certainly won’t do any favours to  a club that are pushing to catch them in the Premier League table.

If Tottenham can’t make a deal for Cancelo, Norwich starlet Max Aarons still remains a high priority for the higher-ups in North London. Some officials at the club believe their money would be better spent on a young, English player capable of developing into a Premier League star.

No matter what, Tottenham fans should expect to see their club linked with a number of different right back options in the coming days. It’s clearly a priority for Mourinho to address in January.