This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

Tottenham Hotspur are tracking West Bromwich Albion youngsters Rico Richards and Nathan Ferguson, per The Sun.

What’s the word?

A number of Premier League clubs are said to be interested in 16-year-old Richards, with Manchester City and Liverpool both scouting the teenager.

He has won one cap for the England U17 side, scoring on his debut, and has made two appearances for the Baggies’ U18 team in the U18 Premier League.

Per The Sun, Richards’ contract expires next year and the Championship club are keen to keep him around, with vultures circling.

Ferguson, too, is just 19 but is already playing for Slaven Bilic’s first-team, making 13 appearances in the Championship in 2019/20. He was first linked with the club in October by a separate Sun report.

A defender who can play at both right-back and left-back, he scored in the 2-0 win over QPR in September and also registered an assist on his debut against Nottingham Forest.

The English youngster has been suspended for the recent games against Stoke City and Hull City after being sent off in the 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic.

Admirable but not needed

This is the kind of scouting that Spurs thrive on.

They have routinely brought in youngsters with a high upside, the likes of Jack Clarke from Leeds United, Dele Alli from MK Dons and Juan Foyth from Estudiantes.

Yet one feels that, right now, they need to focus on bigger issues.

Spurs have won just three times in the Premier League and one has to ask why they are tracking potential stars of the future when what they need is ready-made players who can come in and immediately alter their fortunes.

Indeed, the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen all have contracts that expire in the summer. They are proven Premier League players who will need direct, established replacements - not potential successors who may or may not make the grade at Tottenham.

There are also a number of excellent youth prospects already waiting in the wings; the likes of Oliver Skipp and Troy Parrott have already made their senior debuts and are just 17 and 19 respectively. In terms of potential future gems, the club is well-stocked already.

So with the January transfer window looming, projects aren’t needed; solutions are.

Bringing in two proper centre-backs who can immediately slot in and fill the void left by the Belgians could be required, as could an attacking midfielder who can replace the guile that will disappear if the Dane leaves.

This feels like the wrong time to be looking at players like Richards and Ferguson, then. Spurs already have an abundance of talent in reserve and face a shortage of first-team players, not academy prospects.