Tottenham Hotspur could have a clear shot at signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah as Barcelona are willing to drop out of the race, according to Gol Digital.

What's the word?

The North London outfit could be in the market for a new defender this summer due to the growing uncertainty over Toby Alderweireld's future.

The Belgian is yet to sign a new contract, but fans have made it clear that they want the 29-year-old to stay put.

According to Spanish website Gol Digital, Barcelona have been tracking Leverkusen's Tah for some time, but are prepared to walk away if it means their chances of signing Alderweireld are boosted.

The Mirror recently reported that Tottenham may have to spend around £35m to sign Tah, who has been playing for Leverkusen since his 2015 switch from Hamburg.

How should Tottenham play this?

In most cases, if a rival dropped out of a transfer pursuit, then it would be good news for those still in the race.

However, in this instance, if Spurs move for Tah it will be because Alderweireld is edging towards the exit door.

While Tah has strong defensive qualities, at 22 years old, the German still has plenty of development to make.

Alderweireld is the finished product and has already proven that he is an asset to Mauricio Pochettino's team.

Tottenham's main focus should be sorting out the future of the centre-back, and ideally convincing him to sign fresh terms.

Only once the situation is resolved one way or another should Spurs then look at transfer strategy.

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