According to Marca Colombia, Tottenham have been in touch with the relatives of Colombian defensive midfielder Wilmar Barrios about bringing the Boca Juniors man to Spurs.

What's the story?

Barrios impressed enough at Deportes Tolima in his home country to secure a £2.3m move to Boca in the summer of 2016 and continued his form into this summer's World Cup.

Perhaps his most memorable moment of the tournament for Spurs fans in the UK however would have been his headbutt on Jordan Henderson during England's round of 16 game against Colombia, where he managed to escape with only a yellow card.

With Mousa Dembele set to leave Spurs for the Chinese Super League, Mauricio Pochettino will be looking for a replacement to play in central-midfield alongside Eric Dier. Replacing Dembele will be no easy task though and Poch may want to look for a player who would seem to be a more developed player.

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Premier League experience

Wilfred Ndidi challenges Chelsea's Willian

Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi is a player who could slot straight in to Tottenham's starting 11 and is a ready made replacement for the departing Belgian.

Whereas Barrios would have to bulk up to cope with the demands of the Premier League, Ndidi is a strong and dominating central midfielder who has already proven he has what it takes to make it in England after his £15m move from KRC Genk in January 2017.

The 21-year-old has also already racked up 20 caps for his native Nigeria and had an impressive World Cup campaign despite his side falling at the first hurdle.

Transfermarkt value Ndidi at £22.5m and 24-year-old Barrios at just £7.2m, but Spurs would be sensible to spend to the extra money now to ensure their Dembele replacement improves the current squad.

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