Exclusive: Spurs weighing up move to rival Aston Villa for forward transfer, plus Serie A duo monitored | OneFootball

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has asked the club to explore possible signings in defence and attack for this January’s transfer window, even if the priority remains defence, due to the club’s long injury list in that position.

One name Spurs like in attack is Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen, who is expected to leave this month and who is also on Aston Villa’s list, CaughtOffside understands.

Tottenham are also keen on Malen, but Villa look to be ahead in the running for the Dutchman’s signature at the moment as they are already well underway in negotiations, with talks now at the final stage on the player side.

Some distance remains between the clubs in terms of the player’s valuation, so that could still leave room for other teams interested in being able to join the negotiations. Tottenham are now discussing internally whether or not to enter strongly into the conversation.

Donyell Malen in action for Dortmund against Wolfsburg (Photo by Luciano Lima/Getty Images)

Tottenham looking at midfield transfer targets

As well as that, CaughtOffside have also been told that Spurs are making evaluations and exploring various options in midfield, including the possibility of anticipating the signing of Johnny Cardoso already in January.

It is no coincidence that Real Betis are looking for possible replacements to give the green light to this exit, but, to date, they are still in search as there are no negotiations at an advanced stage.

Not only Cardoso: there are also two Italian names on Tottenham’s list, Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi and Juventus’ Nicolo Fagioli. Spurs have asked for information on them, as both are not finding the space they want at their current clubs.

As for Frattesi, Inter have set the price at a negotiable €50m, but have no intention of letting him go before the Club World Cup that will be played in the summer, while for Fagioli, Juventus’ valuation is about half (€25m) with the Bianconeri who are open to him leaving in January, as Thiago Motta does not consider him a key player in his idea of play.

At the moment there have only been inquiries, but – after having addressed the issues related to the defence – in the second part of January, Tottenham could increase their pressure also on these roles.