Ange Postecoglou personally wants one club's high-earning star at Tottenham in January, as the Spurs head coach seeks to strengthen his squad.
Lange works on transfer plans amid Spurs crisis
New sporting director Johan Lange has already begun work on identifying transfer targets as the January window approaches, as it is believed Spurs recruitment meetings were held last week.
Indeed, Lange and Lilywhites officials have apparently been in behind-the-scenes talks over who to sign in the winter (The Mail), coming amid a real suspension and injury crisis which has hit the Tottenham squad hard.
Spurs have as many as ten players currently unavailable to play, with James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Ashley Phillips, Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur missing.
The latter player had just come back from a long-term lay off as well, so Postecoglou will be reeling at Bentancur's reported ankle ligament injury, which may even keep him out until February.
Postecoglou's need for reinforcements has now intensified further, and while a few of the aforementioned squad members could be back by January, Spurs' lack of squad depth will need addressing.
Ange personally eyeing Jota move
It has been reported that Tottenham's head coach is keen to shore up his attacking options out wide, and one player who's repeatedly linked at the moment is Al-Ittihad winger Jota.
The £200,000-per-week star starred under the Spurs boss while at Celtic, with The Times and journalist Gary Jacob claiming Postecoglou personally wants Jota at Tottenham. A Spurs move for the Portuguese is apparently on the cards for him, as the Lilywhites "bid to sign" him and step up their interest.
Injuries to Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic have intensified Tottenham's need for another winger, especially if they wish to qualify for the Champions League, and the Times say Jota's "unpredictability" made him a fan favourite at Parkhead.
Journalist Dean Jones, speaking to GiveMeSport this week, called a move for the 24-year-old a real "no-brainer" for Lange and Spurs.
"We still have to consider that Tottenham aren't going to just sign players based on a hunch because that's not the way they're going to do things anymore," said Jones.
"Your stats have to fit, specifically, with the vision of the future. But I think Jota would probably do that anyway, in terms of what Tottenham are going to be looking for from a player in that position. I think it is a bit of a no-brainer that Tottenham try to get this deal done because even the terms of it might be quite suitable."
As well as this, pundit Alan Hutton called Jota an "exciting" player to watch.
Likes to cut inside
"Jota's only 23-years-old, he's still developing," explained Hutton to Football Insider. "He's probably only going to get better, I think he can get better. What he's done this season has been incredible, for him to come from his parent club, where he's not really been playing. Benfica are a big club in their own right but to come to another club where there's a lot of pressure, to perform at such a young age, he's stood up to that task.
“Jota's that player fans want to see. He's exciting, he takes people on, he makes things happen, he scores goals and ticks all the boxes."
