Tottenham Hotspur lost ground in the race to finish in the Champions League places on Boxing Day as they failed to come away with all three points against Brentford in the Premier League.
Spurs came from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw with the Bees and that result has left them sitting one point above fifth-placed Manchester United, who also have a game in hand.
Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici may now look to the January transfer window in order to improve the side and one player who looks set to be available is Atletico Madrid wing-back Yannick Carrasco.
Spanish outlet Marca reported last summer that Spurs were eyeing up a potential swoop to sign the midfielder for a fee of €60m (£53m), which is his current release clause.
However, they ended up signing veteran Croatian international Ivan Perisic on a free transfer and Carrasco remained at Atletico for the first half of this season.
Now, French outlet Media Foot are reporting that Paris Saint-Germain have been offered the chance to sign the 29-year-old for a fee in the region of €40m (£35m), although they also add that a loan move could also be on the cards as the Spanish side attempt to offload him next month.
Conte must now reignite Tottenham’s swoop for the wing-back as he could be the perfect heir to Perisic on the left side of Conte’s back five.
Perisic has been an excellent addition to Spurs’ squad this season as he has caught the eye with his performances out wide. He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.96 – the seventh-best rating in the squad – across 16 appearances in the Premier League and chipped in with four assists whilst creating 1.6 chances per match.
Carrasco is a similar player to the Croatian gem in the sense that he is a right-footed left winger who has been converted into being a dynamic left wing-back and he could take over as the main starter at Tottenham.
The Belgian international, who was once described as being “underrated” by journalist Josh Bunting, is just over four years younger than the current Spurs man and his form for Atletico last season suggests that he has the quality to be an excellent addition to the squad.
He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.09 across 34 La Liga outings as he scored six goals and provided six assists, whilst creating 1.6 chances per game.
This shows that he is capable of delivering consistently brilliant displays in that position and that he has the ability in possession to be a difference-maker in the final third.
These statistics suggest that he has the potential to be an upgrade on Perisic, as well as being his mid-to-long-term successor, as he provides a goal threat along with a similar level of creativity from a wing-back position, which is why Spurs must reignite their interest in his services.
